Paradox Interactive has revealed that its long-gestating horror RPG, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, has suffered yet another delay. The disappointing news was shared by CEO Ebba Ljungerud, who confirmed in a year-end report that the game would no longer be launching in 2021. Ljungerud also disclosed that Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2’s lead developer, Hardsuit Labs, is no longer part of the project and that Paradox is seeking another studio to finish the game.
“We have now chosen to postpone the release of the game further, and we will not be launching the game in 2021,” Ljungerud said. “We have also decided that Hardsuit Labs will no longer be leading the development of Bloodlines 2, and we have started a collaboration with a new studio partner to finish work on the game. This has been a difficult decision, but we are convinced that it is the right way forward to do the game justice.”
In a separate development update posted on Steam, Paradox Interactive echoed its decision to delay Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 and how it had removed Hardsuit Labs from the project. Paradox also pointed out that it would temporarily halt pre-orders for the game.
“[…] we have made the hard decision that Hardsuit Labs will no longer be leading the development of Bloodlines 2 – which also means that we will not be releasing in 2021 as previously planned,” Paradox wrote. “Since we cannot at this time communicate a new release date, we’ve also decided to stop accepting pre-orders for the time being.”
“We’d like to take this opportunity to honor Hardsuit Labs for their efforts and thank them for their hard work on the project. The studio has done a tremendous job in laying the foundations for the game and we hope that you, the community, will also appreciate their contribution to Bloodlines 2.”
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2’s development has been a troubled one, to say the least. The action RPG was originally intended to release in March 2020 but has since suffered from three delays. Brian Mitsoda, a lead writer on the original Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, was also fired from the sequel in 2019.