After years of development hell, Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 has an all-new release date. A follow-up of the 2004 cult classic, the upcoming Vampire sequel launches two decades after the original in 2024.
Despite losing its developer midway through development, Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 is ready to launch next year. With a new studio on the project, Vampire fans may finally have a good game to play for the first time in decades.
Revealed via a press release and a new trailer, Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 is being finished by The Chinese Room. Known for iconic walking simulator Dear Esther as well as Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs and Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, publisher Paradox has entrusted the studio to finally realise the Vampire follow-up.
Ed Daly, studio director at The Chinese Room, told fans during a PAX panel: “Vampire: The Masquerade holds a special place in our hearts. The story world’s dark setting filled with intricate narratives built on top of modern society perfectly fits our studio’s catalogue.”
Daly admits that the massive RPG game is a much bigger project than the studio has ever worked on before. After years of creating tightly-knit narrative adventure, a deep systems-driven adventure is certainly more complex than the likes of Amnesia. Nevertheless, the studio is confident they can pull it off.
“Bloodlines 2 is our most ambitious project to date. Fans of the franchise have been eagerly awaiting this game, and we are up to the challenge,” Daly continued. “We are bringing more than 15 years of award-winning experience to the project, creating a game that honours the legacy of its predecessor while bringing its gameplay to the modern era.”
Bloodlines 2 was previously in development at Hardsuit Labs, but publisher Paradox was unhappy with the game’s quality. Since then, Paradox has been rather quiet on the future of Bloodlines 2, although it was confident the game would not be cancelled.
While there isn’t a final release date, Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 is scheduled to launch sometime next year.