In September final yr, Paradox Interactive introduced that it handed the growth of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 to The Chinese language Room, marking an umpteenth twist in the title’s storied journey.
Initially meant to launch in 2020, the sequel to 2004’s Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines is now on course to launch throughout the first half of 2025. Paradox deputy CEO Mattias Lilja tells GamesIndustry.biz that the change of course was the solely strategy to keep away from the undertaking shutting down altogether, he explains.
“Altering builders is a fairly drastic measure, it’s the step earlier than you cease,” he tells us. “And you might want to discover a good developer to proceed, in any other case you in all probability do not proceed. The game had already struggled a bit when this occurred, [and] we [didn’t] do it calmly. It’s a excessive threat manoeuvre. But we thought we had a game we could do, but maybe not with the team we had. And we knew the Chinese language Room, we’d seen a few of what they’d accomplished… So we thought this could be a good match. So we’re actually completely satisfied that we modified, I believe.”
Improvement picked up the place earlier developer Hardsuit Labs left it after being dropped from the undertaking in 2021, with Lilja clarifying that “like with any new studio coming in and having their very own thought,” Paradox let The Chinese language Room resolve what to hold over and out.
“Typically, it is a continuation of the similar imaginative and prescient but they had to make it theirs,” he says, including that Paradox is taking a look at “the first half of 2025” as the launch window and that the team is monitoring effectively in opposition to that.
“When a game has been going this lengthy with a sizable team in Seattle for a variety of years earlier than we moved it… It might need business challenges, but we favored the course,” he continues. “I am a enormous World of Darkness fan myself. So, once I play it, I am beginning to see that truly you are in that world, which is the expertise we’re going for.”
He provides that gamers are in all probability going to check it to Bloodlines 1 and, when it comes to how it should play, “individuals who have seen it discuss Dishonored.”
“So it is a bit extra of an motion RPG, but very steeped in the lore in the sense that you just’re a vampire in World of Darkness,” he provides.
We ask him precisely what The Chinese language Room gives that Hardsuit did not, and what the new developer brings to the desk.
“Hardsuit Labs has many qualities – [but] they’ve by no means accomplished one thing on this scale,” Lilja says. “In order that was principally constructing the team as they have been constructing the game and that turned out to be very robust. And so they have been not shy to say so. Chinese language Room is a extra secure developer, so that they could assault this with extra confidence I would say. And we had extra confidence that they could ship what we noticed, the early work that they did.
“So it is the expertise with such a game. I imply, in the event you have a look at the Chinese language Room… Crafting a game with this very tight story and a tight setting may be very a lot what they do.”
To learn extra from Mattias Lilja, you’ll find our full interview right here, addressing Paradox’s latest tough patch and the way the agency intends to course appropriate by refocusing on its core experience. The interview additionally covers Life by You’s cancellation, the agency’s indie publishing efforts, and extra.