Still Wakes The Deep and Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 developers The Chinese Room have laid off a number of staff, seemingly as part of parent company Sumo Digital's wider strategic decision in February 2025 to move away from original game creation and "focus exclusively on development services for partners".
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 feels, in many ways, like a flash point. It could reawaken the franchise, or it could be the final death for World of Darkness' virtual universes. While the TTRPG is still going strong, propped up by ever-popular live-action plays like LA and New York By Night and Alexander Ward's new spinoff, Project Ghostlight, more recent VTM videogames have struggled to make a real impact. While I will go to bat over Bloodhunt, Sharkmob's ill-fated battle royale, its struggle to contain cheaters nailed that coffin shut, and while Swansong's LA Noire detective vibes sounded great on paper, it was more irritating than enthralling in practice. Even Draw Distance's visual novels haven't quite managed to keep up the momentum, with the team's most recent endeavor, Reckoning of New York, earning muted praise. Kindred everywhere feel like they're shaking their fists, longing for the good ol' days of Troika's troubled but pioneering RPG, Bloodlines. A full, long-awaited sequel, then, it's safe to say that Bloodlines 2 has a lot riding on it.
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Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 release date window and latest news
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I don't ask for very much in life. I like good coffee, competitive esports, and, sometimes, getting caught in the rain (given I'm from Scotland, that part happens a lot). But all I want from 2025 is for Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 to be my game of the year. A slot currently occupied by Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, I'd love to see the World of Darkness shine yet again. Bloodhunt was great, but it didn't last. Swansong, which in theory sounded great, quickly became monotonous. Aside from visual novels like Shadows of New York and its recent sister title, Reckoning of New York, VTM's virtual universe hasn't wowed anyone lately - in short, Bloodlines 2 has to deliver.
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Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 release date window and latest news
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Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 is "done," but gets delayed again
"Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 has been delayed again, this time until the first half of 2025," Graham wrote in August last year. Today I write: Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 has been delayed again, this time until the second half of 2025.
Going by Bloodlines 2's career to date, I strongly suspect that in the second half of 2025, I or some other lost soul will be writing: "Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 has been delayed again, this time until the first half of 2026." Let this news piece stand as a Meeting of the Ways, the profane axle running through past, present and future as the Nine-Eyed Wheel of History bears us down into the mulch.
The last couple of years have seen me finally get the long-awaited sequels to videogames I love. Diablo 4, Space Marine 2, even Dragon Age: The Veilguard - I've been eating well recently. Perhaps at the top of my 'most-anticipated' list, however, is Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 which, while I remain hopeful, has been met with a somewhat lukewarm response. Having already been delayed once, the sequel to one of the best PC games ever made has been hit with yet another pushback, but at least we now have a release window.
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Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 release date window and latest news
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Paradox won't make Bloodlines 3, will hand to another publisher