Paradox takes the blame for disappointing Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 didn't exactly land well with fans of the original game. Now, publisher Paradox Interactive is taking responsibility after reporting weak sales numbers. 

As part of its latest quarterly earnings report, Paradox CEO, Fredrik Wester, addressed the situation with Bloodlines 2, saying that while they had “high expectations” for the game, ultimately the sales didn't match the company's projections. Wester says they are “pleased with the developers' work on the game” and that “the responsibility fully lies with us”.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 was first announced in 2019 and was supposed to release in 2020. However, the game had an extremely troubled development cycle, which led to the original studio in charge of it being booted of the project. The Chinese Room took over development in the end and did the best they could with a bad hand, but even they felt that the game they were making wasn't truly ‘Bloodlines 2‘.

While the game has been disappointing both commercially and critically, IGN notes that Paradox remains committed to the two expansions announced and sold as part of the game's Premium Edition. If a Bloodlines 3 ever happens, it is likely to be given to another developer with more RPG expertise under a licensing agreement, rather than developed in-house.

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KitGuru Says: Paradox is primarily known for its strategy games nowadays, so Bloodlines 2 landing with them always felt like an odd choice. Hopefully future updates and expansions can improve the game a bit, but fans hoping for a true follow-up to the cult classic Bloodlines RPG will have to wait and hope that someone else steps up for a third game. 

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