Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 Finally Has Its New Developer

The Chinese Room is taking over the development of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2.

By Ricky Frech

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has had a very rocky development history since it was announced several years ago. In fact, publisher Paradox Interactive has had to delay Bloodlines 2 more than once and has had something of a turnstile of writers coming through the project over the course of its development. In 2021, Paradox confirmed that Hardsuit Labs, the original developer, was no longer on the project and Paradox would now be working with another developer. Now, at a PAX West keynote speech, the publisher has announced that development has been taken over by The Chinese Room, who will finally finish up what was started many years ago.

In the press release shared alongside the announcement, Paradox's vice president of World of Darkness Sean Greaney said, "We were immediately impressed when we saw The Chinese Room's proposal for Bloodlines 2. They have a true passion for the source material, making them ideal partners to develop a story in the Vampire: The Masquerade setting that resonates with players." Based on that, we may see some changes from what was originally shown off, with The Chinese Room looking to put its own spin on things, but the trailer the team shared alongside the press release looks to be pretty much in line with expectations.

What is The Release Date for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2?

At the time of the announcement, the only update Bloodlines 2 fans got on its release date is that the team is aiming for fall 2024. Of course, with a project that has the history this one does, it's best to assume that the target could move around some as development progresses. That said, the team also said that we will be getting a gameplay reveal in January 2024, which should give us a better idea of exactly what to expect from The Chinese Room's retooled version of Bloodlines 2. Again, that trailer could move around over the coming months, but for now, that's our best bet for when we'll get more information about Bloodlines 2.

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Who is The Chinese Room?

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The Chinese Room is a studio based out of Portsmouth, England that was acquired by Sumo Digital in 2018. The team first popped on the scene with its 2012 game Dear Esther, which placed a heavy emphasis on story-telling over gameplay. They followed that up with Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs. That game wasn't as beloved as the original Amnesia but did expand on the story in meaningful ways. 

From there, the team went back to narrative-heavy "walking simulators" with Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, which was seen as something of a spiritual successor to Dear Esther given how similarly the two games played. Then, in 2017, the entire staff was laid off before being bought by Sumo Digital. From there, The Chinese Room restaffed and released an Apple Arcade game Little Orpheus to solid reviews. That brings us up to the present where the team is working on Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 and Still Wakes the Deep, which is also scheduled to release sometime in 2024.

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