Some games are born with luck, others are born star-crossed. It’s inevitable. Making games is difficult, and as developers often remind us from time to time, it’s a miracle that almost no game gets released. But it’s particularly ironic when this happens with a game that is a sequel to a game that was already a miracle to be released. A game that appeared broken, limping, and yet earned the love of the audience for what it managed to do despite everything. Like Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has been announced during PAX West, held between September 1st and 4th, to be released in the fall of 2024. Promising to showcase gameplay with the current state of the game next January, the studio in charge of the game is The Chinese Room, known for classics like Dear Esther and Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs.
The Chinese Room’s director, Ed Daly, has stated that Vampire: The Masquerade holds a very special place in their hearts. The dark setting and intricate narrative, built upon modern society, fit perfectly into their studio’s catalog. For those unfamiliar with the studio, they specialize in creating narrative-focused games with dark, contemporary settings, emphasizing exploration and environmental investigation.
In any case, the story of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has been one of great upheaval. Initially announced in 2019 with a planned release for 2020 with Hardsuit Labs leading the development, neither the timelines nor the parties involved were met. In August 2020, it was delayed to 2021, and the creative director and narrative designer were let go. In February 2021, an indefinite delay was announced, and Hardsuit Labs was no longer responsible for its development. Since then, until now, two and a half years later, we hadn’t heard anything about the game—neither its release date nor the new development team.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is announced to be released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC. To know what the game will be like, we’ll have to wait until January, and to find out if the game turns out well, we’ll have to wait until the end of the year. But in the meantime, we can always have faith that, despite all the problems the first one had, it turned out well in the end.
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