Publisher Paradox Interactive and developer The Chinese Room have published a new dev diary for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. The dev diary goes into how The Chinese Room will be picking up development for the game.
04.09.2023 - 18:19 / gamingbolt.com / Hardsuit Labs / Sean Greaney
Paradox Interactive recently re-revealed Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, confirming that the action RPG is now being developed by The Chinese Room (Dear Esther, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture). Of course, until early 2021, the studio in charge of the project was Hardsuit Labs, before being taken off it due to behind-the-scenes development issues– however, the project wasn’t rebooted and started from scratch.
Speaking in a recent interview with Digital Trends, Sean Greaney – vice president of the World of Darkness IP at Paradox Interactive – revealed that a lot of the work done by Hardsuit Labs has been used in the current project. In particular, new developer The Chinese Room has built on top of previous work like the game’s themes, its setting of Seattle, and “a significant degree” of art and character art.
“Hardsuit Labs is a great studio, and they did a lot of good work on this project,” Greaney said. “We just had a very different vision for the final product, and we couldn’t align on that vision. And so the right thing to do was to end the collaboration and find a studio that shared that vision.”
He added: “The work that had been done on the game was very important for getting us to a certain point, so the themes, Seattle as the setting, and a significant degree of the art and character art has been carried over. It isn’t from the ground up, but it isn’t a straight continuation either.”
Meanwhile, it’s also been confirmed that under The Chinese Room’s stewardship, the game’s development has moved from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is due out in Fall 2024 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, and Paradox Interactive is confident that the game won’t be delayed again.
Publisher Paradox Interactive and developer The Chinese Room have published a new dev diary for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. The dev diary goes into how The Chinese Room will be picking up development for the game.
Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 recently received (September 2023) some news regarding its targeted release, having been moved over to a new development studio. The game was initially supposed to be released all the way back in March 2020, but after several delays, the project appears to have been refocused somewhat.
The Chinese Room's rebooted version of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 won't be an immersive sim like Hardsuit Labs' version of the game was said to be.
There's been much secrecy regarding Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2, the sequel to the 2004 cult favorite vampire RPG. First announced in 2019—with the original creatives returning for the sequel—work on that game hit a roadblock, and a creative and developer shakeup was announced in 2021.
Everybody's Gone to the Rapture team The Chinese Room has been confirmed as the new studio behind the troubled Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2, with an updated release window set for late 2024. It's unclear how much of the work original developer Hardsuit Labs put into the project will carry over into the final version, but you can catch a new trailer above.
Vampire: the Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has awoken from its long slumber, with a new studio and release window in tow. Over the weekend, Paradox Interactive confirmed that Bloodlines 2 development is in the hands of The Chinese Room, with a release window of fall 2024.
Paradox interactive has re-announce Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, now with The Chinese Room taking over as the game’s developer.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 has risen from the depths of development hell, two years after Paradox Interactive parted ways with the game's former developer, Hardsuit Labs, and delayed the game indefinitely. The publisher has since recruited Dear Estherand Everybody’s Gone to the Rapturestudio The Chinese Room to work on the sequel to the original RPG from 2004. Bloodlines 2 is now set to arrive in fall 2024.
Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines had a cult following, and for years, it didn’t look like the game would see a new installment. However, that changed just a few years ago with publisher Paradox Interactive working with the studio Hardsuit Labs. This team would bring out a new thrilling installment with players tossed into a war filled with legions of vampires. Details were a bit scarce, but the studio was full steam ahead for getting this game out into the marketplace. However, it all fell apart a couple of years ago.
When Paradox Interactive announced in early 2021 that Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 had been indefinitely delayed, with developer Hardsuit Labs being taken off the project, many feared the worst, with questions being asked about whether the game would even see the light of day. After all, after the decision was made to take Hardsuit Labs off development, the game almost ended up getting cancelled.
Paradox Interactive has, at long last, officially re-revealed Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, with The Chinese Room – known for the likes of Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture and Dear Esther – taking over as the developer from Hardsuit Labs. And even though plenty of work done by the original developer is still being used for the new project, the new studio in charge has made some significant changes behind the scenes.
Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2, sequel to the cult classic 2004 vampire role-playing game, has resurfaced in a new version made by a new studio after its development imploded in 2021.