Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 has been hit with a delay, according to developer Hardsuit Labs. While the long-awaited sequel to Bloodlines was originally due in Q1 of 2020, Hardsuit Labs has decided to push that date back several months in order to avoid repeating past mistakes.
It's been roughly 15 years since the first Bloodlines released back in 2004, and news of a sequel at long last took many fans of the franchise by surprise. Bloodlines' successor has been in the works for the past three and a half years, and now Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 has a new projected release window of late 2020.
Taking to the Bloodlines 2 development blog, Hardsuit Labs' Andy Kipling and Brian Mitsoda issued a joint statement on the delay, stating that the first Bloodlines "famously launched too early," and that the company was aiming to avoid that same misstep with the sequel. "For the last three and a half years, we’ve worked hard to bring you a worthy successor to Bloodlines 1. To us, that meant not only making good on the ambitions of this remarkable game, but also a duty to ensure we would not repeat its mistakes," the post reads. "Although Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 will still launch in 2020, we have decided to value quality over making the Q1 launch window."
Kipling and Mitsoda maintained that while delaying Bloodlines 2 was a difficult decision, the company believes it is the right one. "This hasn’t been an easy, nor our first choice. Throughout 2019 we have been improving our processes and growing our teams, however it soon became clear that this alone won’t allow us to deliver the quality we want at the date we promised," the post adds. Despite the setback, it at least sounds as though Hardsuit is confident in Bloodlines 2's storyline, characters, and world that it has crafted. When discussing Hardsuit's high-reaching goals for Bloodlines 2, Kipling and Mitsoda wrote that: "We firmly believe that we’re on the right track to get you all of this."
While eager fans may be disappointed at the sudden increase in time before they can get their hands on Bloodlines 2, Hardsuit Labs' reasoning behind this decision definitely comes from a good, even reassuring place. Besides: fans who have already waited 15 years for Bloodlines 2 can undoubtedly wait just a few months more.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 will launch in late 2020 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: Bloodlines 2 Dev Blog