After already being pushed into “later in 2020” last October, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has been delayed once again into 2021.
Last time the game was delayed, Hardsuit Labs cited the original’s notoriously rough launch and not wanting to repeat history, but this delay seems more straightforward. The team made the announcement on its social channels with a joint statement between Hardsuit Labs’ Andy Kipling and publisher Paradox Interactive’s Jakob Munthe, which states the decision was made to give the team more time to polish the game and saying the ambitions of the project were making it impossible to reasonably hit the original 2020 release date.
The full statement reads as follows:
“Our goal has always been to deliver the best game possible, to immerse you into a Seattle re-imagined in the World of Darkness, and deliver a worthy successor to the original Bloodlines game. Due to the quality bar and ambitions we have set for ourselves, we have made the difficult decision that we need more time. This means that our goal to release in 2020 is no longer possible. Moving launch is one of the changers we are making to ensure the best player experience possible.
This is not a decision taken lightly, nor is it the first option we considered. WE will share more information in the coming months on launch timing and other organizational changes that will help us achieve this goal.
We understand that this will be a disappointment to many of you, but we also appreciate how our ambition is echoed through many parts of the community. We hope you understand that, while difficult, this is the right call.
We thank you all for your patience while we continue to build Bloodlines 2.”
Today we have an important announcement in regards to the release date of Bloodlines 2. ???? pic.twitter.com/M3xR5qOOpN
— Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 (@VtM_Bloodlines) August 11, 2020
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In a coronavirus pandemic-driven world, there are a lot of delays happening as developers shift to work from home setups that have been causing some complications with development across the board. Whether that be in just updates like Final Fantasy XIV, or games being delayed into the abyss of 2021 like Guilty Gear Strive. Some delays have come and gone, like The Last of Us Part II, which was delayed “indefinitely” due to the pandemic, but ultimately only ended up being pushed forward about a month or so. But that’s not to say that there aren’t delays happening that don’t have much to do with the pandemic at all. Cyberpunk 2077 was last delayed into November back in June, with developer CD Projekt Red saying the game was already feature and content complete, but the team wanted more time to polish the open-world game up. Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 makes no mention of the pandemic as a root cause of the delay, but I’m sure it’s not making things any easier for the team as they try to work from home.
For more on Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, check out our write up on the game’s depiction of Seattle.
