As teased a couple of weeks ago, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 was featured in today's PAX West event. First, we learned that the new developer is The Chinese Room, the studio known for Dear Esther, Korsakovia, Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, and Little Orpheus.

　　A few developers talked about their work on Bloodlines 2 in the studio reveal trailer.

　　Fans are going to find a lot more that we haven't done before that is still true to us

　　and true to our DNA, and hopefully it exceeds their expectations. Our game is powerful, dark, violent, thrilling, twisty, visceral, visceral is a word we use a lot in the studio.

　　Then, we also learned the game's release date: Fall 2024 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S|X.

　　In a press release, Ed Daly, Studio Director at The Chinese Room, said:

　　Vampire: The Masquerade holds a special place in our hearts. The story world’s dark setting filled with intricate narratives built on top of modern society perfectly fits our studio’s catalog. Bloodlines 2 is our most ambitious project to date. Fans of the franchise have been eagerly awaiting this game, and we are up to the challenge. We are bringing more than 15 years of award-winning experience to the project, creating a game that honors the legacy of its predecessor while bringing its gameplay to the modern era.

　　Sean Greaney, Vice President of World of Darkness at publisher Paradox Interactive, added:

　　We were immediately impressed when we saw The Chinese Room’s proposal for Bloodlines 2. They have a true passion for the source material, making them ideal partners to develop a story in the Vampire: The Masquerade setting that resonates with players. We are committed to making Bloodlines 2 a success. Bringing on a studio that shares our vision was critical to helping us achieve these goals. Fans of the franchise can rest assured knowing that Bloodlines 2 is in good hands, and we will have more to share with you in January.

　　The press release also reveals that Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 will feature a different story than the game previously in development at Hardsuit Labs. In the original premise, players would be a 'thin-blood, one of a number of humans turned into vampires in a Mass Embrace incident. In the new version in development at The Chinese Room, players will take the role of an Elder vampire.

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　　As a reminder, the previous iteration of Bloodlines 2 was announced in March 2019 after an elaborate ARG campaign where users were asked to sign up for a so-called 'Tender' dating app that supposedly matched people based on their blood type.

　　The news immediately generated excitement for the sequel, mainly because Brian Mitsoda would be returning from the original game to write the story of the new installment. The original target release date was Q1 2020, but the developers pushed it back to late 2020 and then again to 2021.

　　This was only the beginning of the game's troubles. Not long after the delay to 2021 was announced, the project lost Brian Mitsoda and creative director Ka'ai Cluney, reducing the community's confidence in the final game. A couple of months later, publisher (and owner of the World of Darkness IP since the 2015 acquisition from CCP Games) Paradox Interactive halted the development of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 after deciding to replace developer Hardsuit Labs.

　　Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 was at serious risk of being canceled at the time, as Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester would later acknowledge in late 2021. Fortunately, another studio sold Paradox on a new pitch, and development recommenced.

　　Originally, the developers had partnered with NVIDIA to add ray tracing and Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) support on PC. It is unclear whether the partnership remains standing with the overhauled project.