Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 Loses Lead Narrative Designer, Creative Director

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 developer Hardsuit Labs and Paradox Interactive today announced that Lead Narrative Designer Brian Mitsoda and Creative Director Ka'ai Cluney have left the project. Mitsoda had previously served as a leader writer on the original video game. While the announcement comes on the heels of the recent delay to 2021, it would appear that these departures happened back in July. Additionally, it was announced that Alexandre Mandryka has come aboard the project as "Creative Consultant" to functionally fill Cluney's vacated role on the title.

"We appreciate, and value, the contributions of Brian and Ka'ai, which were instrumental in establishing the game's storyline and dark tone and have helped to ensure that we are making a true successor to the iconic Bloodlines," the statement on the new organizational changes reads in part. "We wish them both the best in their future endeavors."

In a lengthy statement provided to Rock, Paper, Shotgun, Mitsoda states that his termination in July came as a surprise. "That this came as a shock to me is underselling it," the statement reads in part. "I've worked on Bloodlines 2 for almost five years. The story and main cast was initially conceived in my living room. I helped develop the pitch for Hardsuit Labs and helped pitch the project to Paradox in Las Vegas. I've been in charge of the narrative since the beginning, working long days and sometimes weekends to deliver a successor to Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, and I've never been led to believe that I hadn't succeeded."

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 is now scheduled to release in 2021 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC. As noted above, it was previously set to release this year. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the upcoming sequel right here.

What do you think of the organizational restructuring? Are you still interested in picking up Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 when it releases next year? Let us know in the comments, or hit me up directly on Twitter at @rollinbishop to talk all things gaming!