Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 has been without a lead narrative designer since late August, but no longer. The vampire action roleplaying game has found itself a new head storyteller.
The long-awaited sequel to 2004's cult hit, Bloodlines 2 has seen some turmoil in the last couple of months. As recently as last week, Senior Narrative Designer Cara Ellison decided to leave the project for another opportunity. Prior to that, in August, developer Hardsuit Labs and publisher Paradox parted ways with the game's creative director and lead narrative designer, neither of which are positive signs for a game approaching release.
Hardsuit Labs has now filled at least one of those vacant roles. Narrative Designer Samantha Wallschlaeger announced via Twitter yesterday that she is the new lead narrative designer for the indie developer. According to her bio and LinkedIn profile, Wallschlaeger has previously worked at BioWare and ArenaNet, with game credits that include Guild Wars 2, Mass Effect: Andromeda, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. For the most part, her duties ranged from creating characters and their story arcs to developing storylines for quests and expansion content.
Exactly what this means for Bloodlines 2 is unclear. Most video game developers would likely agree that instability in leadership is not ideal, as it creates the potential for disjointed narrative, inconsistent tone, and a host of other issues. In particular, the concern stems from these changes happening with the game's release on the horizon. Bloodlines fans, and surely the studio itself, are hoping that Wallschlaeger's addition to the team can provide some stability.
On top of personnel turnover, Bloodlines 2 has seen several delays. Initially set to release this year, Hardsuit attributed the first delay to a desire to not repeat the mistakes of the past. The original Bloodlines released notoriously early in 2004, bringing with it a host of bugs. Explanations for the second delay were equally vague, referring to the "quality bar" that the studio wished to achieve. Still, news that Bloodlines 2 had been delayed until 2021 was unwelcome, to say the least.
Of course, Bloodlines 2 isn't the only game hounded by delays. Among other hotly anticipated titles, CD Projekt Red announced a 21-day delay for Cyberpunk 2077 just today. Many studios are experiencing tumult right now, and the pandemic is not making life easier for Hardsuit, CDPR, and others. As of July, about a third of game developers worldwide delayed their games due to COVID-19. Hopefully, the delays, and personnel changes, work out for the best and help deliver quality video games.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 is set for release in 2021 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series.