As part of its Q3 interim report, publisher Paradox Interactive has offered an update on the beleaguered Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, saying it's "happy with the progress" being made by the game's still unknown new developer, but that it won't be in a position to provide an updated release date for "quite some time".

Back in October, Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester admitted the publisher had almost scrapped Bloodlines 2 completely after its incredibly troubled development, which has seen the project hit with multiple delays and other controversies since its announcement back in 2019 - a sequence of events that ultimately lead to original developer Hardsuit Labs being removed from the project earlier this year.

Wester also confirmed Bloodlines 2 was now in the hands of a "very reputable and talented" new developer and that the studio had "high hopes" the title would "be a good game that meets our players' desires." One thing Wester did not share, however, was the new developer's name, and Paradox has now confirmed that secrecy will remain in place for the foreseeable future.

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It's been a rough ride for Paradox Entertainment's long-in-the-works RPG sequel Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, and now the publisher has admitted it almost cancelled the project after its original developer Hardsuit Labs was ditched earlier this year.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, a sequel to developer Troika Games' much-loved 2004 cult-classic RPG, was announced back in 2019 with a PC and console release expected the following year. Sequel-starved fans were delights at the news, particularly after it was confirmed Troika's Brian Mitsoda would assist with writing duties - but first hints of development troubles surfaced later that year when Hardsuit announced the first of several delays.

In June 2020, Paradox distanced itself from designer Chris Avellone's work on the game following allegations of sexual assault, and a significant studio shake-up in August saw lead narrative designer Brian Mitsoda and creative director Ka'ai Cluney fired from their roles for reasons not shared. Then in October 2020, Paradox confirmed senior narrative designer Cara Ellison had left the project and was no longer working with Hardsuit.

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Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2's lead narrative designer Brian Mitsoda and creative director Ka'ai Cluney have been fired from the action-RPG project, with the former saying the decision by developer Hardsuit Labs and publisher Paradox Interactive "came as a shock" and that he had "never been led to believe that [he] hadn't succeeded" in his role.

A shake-up of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2's development team was first hinted at earlier this month, when Hardsuit and Paradox announced a delay to the game's release - it will now launch in 2021 - "to ensure the best player experience possible". Its statement also made references to "organisational changes" within the team that it would share at a later date.

Paradox and Hardsuit have now followed up that earlier statement with a new message. In it, they confirm that Brian Mitsoda and Ka'ai Cluney are no longer part of the development team, and that "this was a joint decision made by the leadership of Hardsuit Labs and Paradox Interactive." Alexandre Mandryka - who has worked on the likes of Assassin's Creed and Far Cry - has been brought in as creative consultant, to fill the creative director role.

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Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 has been delayed to 2021.

In a joint statement, Andy Kipling, boss of developer Hardsuit Labs, and Jakob Munthe, boss of role-playing games at publisher Paradox, said Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 needs more time "to ensure the best player experience possible".

The statement also mentions "organisational changes", although it does not elaborate.

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The Vampire the Masquerade game in development at Big Bad Wolf, creators of the episodic adventure game The Council, now has a subtitle: Swansong.

Swansong is a narrative role-playing game set in the Vampire the Masquerade universe and due out at some point in 2021. It was announced as part of publisher Bigben Interactive's May showcase event, and has remained quiet since. But today its official Twitter page piped up with the subtitle and some suitably vampiric prose:

And here's the official blurb from the press release:

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Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 has been delayed. The game was due out during the first quarter of 2020, but will now launch later in 2020.

"We need some more time to get you the game you've been waiting for," reads a joint statement from developer Hardsuit Labs' Andy Kipling and Brian Mitsoda.

"Although Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 will still launch in 2020, we have decided to value quality over making the Q1 launch window."

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Welcome to another week of Five of the Best, a series where we celebrate the overlooked parts of video games, like hands! And potions! And dinosaurs! And shops! They're the kinds of things etched unwittingly into memory, like an essential ingredient of a favourite dish you could never put a finger on. And I want to spark discussion, so please share memories as they flash into your mind. Today, another five. The topic...

Health pick-ups! Oh how very specific - but I need to be. I'm not talking about health systems but the things you pick up to heal yourself. Used to be all games did it this way, but then Halo came along with its recharging health and all of a sudden everyone wanted the same. Now that feels like the norm.

But there are old-fashioned health systems out there (and they'll probably take offence at being called old-fashioned, so I'm sorry, I don't mean it in a bad way!). I still see Overwatch health packs when I close my eyes at night, and potions, which I've written a whole Five of the Best on, are a dime a dozen in RPGs. They're still out there, still crucial to how we get through games.

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Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 will be released in Q1 2020, Paradox and developer Hardsuit Labs have announced. It's in development for PC and consoles, remember.

Alongside the narrowed down date was a brand new gameplay trailer, showing some of the powers and sights we'll see in Seattle at night. It's the most we've seen of the Vampire game so far.

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All eyes might be on Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 but it's not due for release until next year. There is, however, something very closely related you can snack on before then - a new game called Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries of New York.

It's a single-player narrative experience made by a Polish company called Draw Distance - formerly known as iFun4All, maker of chirpy murder scene clear-up game Serial Cleaner. And Coteries of New York is coming to PC and Switch in Q4 this year, obviously with World of Darkness IP holder Paradox's blessing.

Coteries is set squarely in the fifth edition of Vampire: The Masquerade lore. In it, you'll be able to belong to one of several vampire clans, each with their own way of doing things, and you'll see their different ethical approaches born out in dialogue and gameplay. And the choices you make will steer you towards one of a number of endings.

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