Set to release next year, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 has the large majority of its dedicated cult-fanbase very excited for its upcoming release. The ambitious sequel looks to build on its notoriously buggy predecessor, promising fans a large open world, a branching narrative, and plenty of vampire powers to utilize against foes.
Yet, while the game's showcases since its announcement have looked fairly promising, it seems the behind scenes workings of Bloodlines 2 haven't been as smooth sailing as some fans might hope. Yesterday, Hardsuit Labs, the developer behind the upcoming sequel, announced that it had parted ways with the game's senior narrative designer Cara Ellison.
"We can confirm that Cara Ellison has decided to leave Hardsuit Labs and is no longer working on Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2," The studio revealed to PC Gamer in a statement yesterday, going on to claim that "many of her contributions will be present in the game launching next year." Speculation surrounding the developer's departure from the studio started to spread after she removed any mention of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 from her Twitter bio. Ellison's future in the games industry has since been revealed, with the team over at League of Geeks announcing that she will be acting as a senior narrative designer on the studio's future projects.
The news comes very shortly after the announcement that Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2' creative director Ka'ai Cluney and narrative designer Brian Mitsoda had been let go from the project. The reveal was a massive shock for not only the fans of the game but also both developers themselves, with Mitsoda admitting that the entire ordeal was a surprise to him. With the game so close to release, losing valued members of the team is not a great sign for development, so here's to hoping Bloodlines 2 still manages to ship in a better state than its predecessor.
For those not caught up on Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, the game was first announced back in March last year. Bringing the staple RPG gameplay of its 2004 predecessor to the modern era, it looks to have an equal balance of hard-hitting vampire action and chilling scares. While the studio initially was aiming to secure Bloodlines 2 a 2020 release date, it needed a little longer in the oven, with Hardsuit Labs opting to delay it into 2021 so the developers had a little more time to refine it into a smoother experience. Here's to hoping that the game will manage to wow audiences when it hits PC and consoles at some point next year.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2Â will release in 2021 on the PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Source: PC Gamer