Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2publisher Paradox Interactive says the game is still on track, despite layoffs at the title’s developer, The Chinese Room. The sequel to 2004’sBloodlineshas had a rough development cycle so far, but it appears its latest setback has not affected its release window. Fans may finally get their hands onVampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2later this year, regardless of the recent shakeup.
The Chinese Room announced thatVampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2would release in October 2025earlier this year. While that window places the game’s launch over 20 years after its predecessor, it was welcome news for fans, given a long history of delays and disruption throughout development up until that point. Fears of another such setback rose again after news of layoffs struck, butBloodlines 2is reportedly still set for an October 2025 release.
According to astatement from a Paradox representative to PC Gamer, the recent layoffs have not affectedVampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2’s development. BeforeThe Chinese Room confirmed the layoffs, it had said that the title was mostly complete and that the only remaining work was little more than fine-tuning it. As such, it would make sense that the game could keep the same release window despite having fewer people working on it. Still, while fans may breathe a sigh of relief, it’s another reminder of the troubling trend of layoffs and broader development issues in the gaming industry.
Paradox Interactive Says Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 Is Unaffected by Chinese Room Layoffs
While this latest developer disruption may not have impacted the game much, the long-awaited RPG has not had an easy road so far. After its original 2019 announcement,Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2saw several release delays, from 2020 to 2021 to 2024 to 2025. It has even come out that the game was almost canceled amid those delays, though it managed to stay alive through it all.
This tumultuous dev cycle included a studio change, too. In 2023,The Chinese Room took over work onBloodlines 2from Hardsuit Labsafter collaborating with Hardsuit on it since 2021. That shift also came with a change in story and gameplay, and all of this happened long before it came out that The Chinese Room’s parent company was laying off staff. Despite such a long, wild ride, though, it seems the wait is finally over andBloodlines 2will come out this Fall.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Fight your way through a modern-day Seattle on the brink of an open war as an elder Vampire. Meet the power-players, ally yourself and decide who will rule and what the city will become.A three-front siege on Seattle, a power vacuum in the vampire court and an awakened elder at odds with the voice in their head, realized by BAFTA award winning studio, The Chinese Room.You are the MonsterBlood sustains you and powers your vampiric Disciplines. You’ll stalk and feed on the city’s population by night. Use your supernatural powers or raw persuasion on civilians and lure them into deep, dark alleys to sate your Hunger. Beware of breaking the Masquerade though: do not reveal what you are or you risk reprisals - at first from law enforcement and then, well, remember you are not all that goes bump in this night.Explore visceral, immersive combat rewarding entirely different playstyles and approaches based on your choice of vampire clan. Will you wade into the fray with supernatural fists, harangue from afar or rebalance your odds by thinning the herd like the apex predator you are? Clan choice supports these playstyles and more.
