Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 delayed again, and this time it's a big one

Bad news for those of you looking forward to Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, as the game has been delayed again. This is the third delay the game has suffered, and this time, the delay is a big one not only in terms of how far the game has been pushed back, but also in terms of the event that prompted this delay. We don't have a specific release date for Bloodlines 2 yet, but we do know that we've got quite the wait ahead of us.

In a post to the Bloodlines 2 website today, publisher Paradox Interactive first acknowledged that it's been awhile since we were given an update on Bloodlines 2 and confirmed that the game is still in development. With that out of the way, Paradox revealed that Bloodlines 2 will no longer meet its 2021 release window, which means it'll be releasing sometime in 2022 at the earliest.

So, what's the cause of this big delay? Apparently, Paradox Interactive has opted to switch developers on the project, meaning Hardsuit Labs is no longer the developer on Bloodlines 2. Paradox didn't share who the new developer on Bloodlines 2 is, nor did it say why it decided to remove Hardsuit as the lead on the project.

Since the game's new release date is a long way off, Paradox has opted to halt pre-orders for now as well. "This game is very important to us and it has been an ambitious project from the very start," Paradox wrote. "In order to meet our goals for it, we've come to the conclusion that a change is needed and, as a result, more development time is required."

Bloodlines 2 has had a beleaguered development process thus far, and that's thanks at least in part to the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally slated to release in March 2020, Bloodlines 2 was first delayed to a 2020 release window before being delayed a second time to an unspecified 2021 release window. Now that the game has been delayed beyond this year, here's hoping that this is the last delay the game will suffer. We'll keep our fingers crossed, and we'll let you know when Paradox reveals more.