Video Games Stuck In Development Hell: Part 2

Development hellhole doesn’t ever person to bespeak magnitude – sometimes, a game’s improvement tin spell sideways successful conscionable a abbreviated play of time. Case successful point, steadfast Paradox Interactive’s Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, a title announced successful 2019 that has since been astir canceled, swapped to aggregate developers, and more. 

When Bloodlines 2 was announced successful 2019, determination was a ton of excitement astir it. It was a sequel 15 years successful the making, aft all. Things seemed to beryllium progressing good aft Bloodlines 2’s announcement, too. It received trailers showcasing the Brujah Clan, the Ventrue Clan, full communicative videos, and more. Paradox Interactive announced successful 2020 that Bloodlines 2 would beryllium coming to Xbox Series X, and past close after, the steadfast announced it would target PlayStation 5 arsenic well.  

That’s a batch of contented astir Bloodlines 2, right? Surely the crippled was good connected its mode to being released. Well, successful August of 2020, Paradox and then-developer Hardsuit Labs announced that Bloodlines 2 was delayed to 2021. Let’s telephone this infinitesimal successful the sequel’s improvement timeline the infinitesimal it entered hell. 

Shortly aft that delay, the game’s pb communicative designer, Brian Mitsoda, and its originative director, Ka’ai Cluney, announced they were no longer moving connected the task astatine Hardsuit Labs. Two months later, Paradox Interactive announced that Cara Ellison, Bloodlines 2’s elder communicative designer, had near Hardsuit Labs. 

Fast guardant to February 2021 and Paradox Interactive announced that it had fired Hardsuit Labs from the improvement of Bloodlines 2. A period later, Hardsuit Labs suffered layoffs. According to PC Gamer, Paradox Interactive picked different workplace to enactment connected Bloodlines 2, a workplace it hasn’t formally named, and the Bloodlines sequel was delayed “indefinitely.”

There’s nary connection connected however the improvement of Bloodlines 2 is going astatine the moment, but hey, Paradox Interactive announced Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodhunt, a battle royale acceptable successful the aforesaid beingness arsenic the Bloodlines game, and released it into aboriginal access, truthful that’s beauteous neat.