It's been nearly 20 years since Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines dazzled players with its immersive storytelling and litany of bugs upon release, and we're still waiting for its full sequel.
After being announced years ago, Bloodlines 2 has swapped developers and had a long list of delays thrown its way, but the game is still seemingly on the way eventually - here are all the details you should know about it.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 release date
As we said, Bloodlines 2 was announced all the way back in 2019, but its release is sadly nowhere on the immediate horizon. It was theoretically going to come out in March 2020, but that date quickly became a thing of the past.
Everything changed in 2021, when publisher Paradox Interactive confirmed that it had taken the game's development studio, Hardsuit Labs, off the project, and reassigned it to another, unnamed studio. Now, years later, we know that this was The Chinese Room, and the game is finally back on track for a release in Fall 2024.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 trailers
Many of the trailers released for Bloodlines 2 pre-date the game's change of development team, and could therefore represent an older version of the game.
A lot of them have also subsequently been set to "Private" on YouTube, so it looks like the only trailer you can really rely on at this point is the one that announced the game's 2024 release date, below:
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 platforms
Bloodlines 2 was announced a long while ago - when it had the wraps taken off, the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S hadn't even been announced.
Years later, we now know that the game will be a current-gen-only title, coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 story
Bloodlines 2 is set in Seattle, but you might need some background about The World of Darkness. This is the universe it's set in, one full to the brim with vampires.
The Masquerade in the game's title refers to the pact agreed to by different vampire clans - that they'll keep their existence a secret in order to mutually profit from normal humans.
That means that Seattle and other such cities are carved up into territories owned by different clans and blood types, each with their own ways of ruling their roost.
The clans in question are below:
- Thinblood
- Brujah
- Tremere
- Toreador
- Ventrue
- Malkavian
Meanwhile, there are also several factions:
- The Pioneers
- The Camarilla
- The Baron
- The Newcomers
- The Unseen
You'll seemingly play a newcomer to the city, one who's only recently been turned into a vampire and will be seeking to make their way.
It looks like things will be kicked off by you and other humans being transformed in an illegal Mass Embrace, which will throw the vampire world into turmoil.
Trailers have made it clear that you'll act as a sort of mercenary or fixer, working jobs for a variety of locals as you make a name for yourself.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 gameplay
While the gameplay we've seen from Bloodlines 2 is likely to be quite out of date, it still gives a strong indication of the sort of stuff we can expect from Bloodlines 2 eventually.
Like the first game, this will be a first-person RPG with combat and dialogue to explore.
We'll be able to build up a repertoire of vampiric skills, according to the game's website, picking from different disciplines to create a toolset that lets us play how we want.
Like any good RPG, there will be the option to avoid combat most of the time, focussing on being persuasive and charming in conversation (also aided by some powers), while stealth will also be a real option.
How smoothly all of this works is a big question since it's a hugely ambitious mixture of gameplay elements to blend. Back in 2004, the original game was fairly groundbreaking, but also fairly broken and full of bugs, so it's perhaps fitting that the sequel is taking a very, very long time to actually manifest.
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