Today, Paradox Interactive and The Chinese Room have released the final developer diary for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 before the end of 2024. The developer diary is dedicated to sound design in the upcoming first-person action roleplaying game.
However, by far the most interesting tidbit is that when the developer diaries resume next year, they will include ‘customization, weapon systems, release date, and content expansion plans.’ The latter is news to us, as there had been no previous hint at any expansion plans for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. It may be a sign that both the developer and publisher are confident in the game’s quality and are, therefore, already planning to also create downloadable content to release post-launch.
Should that turn out to be the case, fans might be sighing in relief. Bloodlines 2 has had a troublesome development phase, to say the least. The game was being made by Hardsuit Labs with the help of Bloodlines designer Brian Mitsoda, but Paradox decided not to go forward with that version of the project. It came awfully close to being canceled, too, but The Chinese Room (Dear Esther, Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, and Still Wakes the Deep) delivered a pitch that convinced Paradox to let them make Bloodlines 2.
There have been changes, of course. While Seattle remains the setting, the main character has switched from being a newly converted Thinblood to a powerful Elder vampire called Phyre who has been forcefully laid dormant for a hundred years and suddenly awakens in an unfamiliar environment. At launch, players will be able to choose between the following clans: Brujah, Tremere, Banu Haqim, and Ventrue. More will be added after the release, which is tentatively slated for the first half of 2025.
However, Paradox Interactive does not wish to repeat the painful experience of handling a project that is, in their own words, outside of their wheelhouse. As such, any further installments would be licensed out to a third-party studio.
