Paradox Interactive has announced a new game today after months of waiting and speculation. That new game is a continuation of the bloody and dreary Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines. The new game will continue the story of the 2004 title based on the World of Darkness property from White Wolf Publishing. Yes, the same White Wolf that CCP originally bought the rights to years ago, before attempting to make an MMO based on the property.
As we all know now, that project was a mess and ultimately failed, leading to the closure of a CCP branch studio and a selloff the White Wolf assets and rights to Paradox. Since buying the World of Darkness IP though, Paradox has been very hush-hush about the whole thing. The company mostly refused to talk openly about it other than to say that they had ideas being worked on.
Now we now that those teases were the first bite that led to the announcement of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. That announcement first revealed itself hidden behind a browser-based augmented reality game (ARG) called Tender which was akin to a modern dating service. Players found hidden references to the new game buried deep within a maze of profiles, quests and clues. The gothic art especially clued gamers into the theme and let people know that vampires are involved in some way.
Cut to GDC 2019 this past week where Paradox held a special fan event for those who had dug through the ARG. It was eventually revealed that the app was, in kayfabe, a means of luring and attracting prey for the Kindred (the vampires in the the WOD backstory). It was also confirmed that Chris Avellone and Brian Mitsoda are both working on the project.
The game will also get some form of post-launch DLC, judging by the existence of the Season Pass, although there are no details what this could be other than being a major expansion and two quest-based story packs which expand upon the base game.
Paradox also announced a variety of pre-order bonuses and special versions of the new game to choose from:
- Standard Edition – comes with just the base game; costs $59.99
- Pre-order bonuses – include the digital soundtrack and several outfits
- Deluxe/Unsanctioned Edition – includes the base game, pre-order bonuses, a digital art book, developer commentary, additional outfits, and 24-hour early access; costs $69.99
- Premium/Blood Moon Edition – includes all of the above, plus the season pass which will have two story packs and an expansion; costs $89.99
You can see the first glimpse of the new vampiric title in the announcement trailer down below. Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 releases in Q1 2020 for PC. And no, it won’t be exclusive to any platform or retailer. The game will launch n Steam, GOG, Epic and Paradox’s official website.
