Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2’s lead narrative designer Brian Mitsoda and creative director Ka’ai Cluney have been fired from the action-RPG project, with the former saying the decision by developer Hardsuit Labs and publisher Paradox Interactive “came as a shock” and that he had “never been led to believe that [he] hadn’t succeeded” in his role.
A shake-up of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2’s development team was first hinted at earlier this month, when Hardsuit and Paradox announced a delay to the game’s release – it will now launch in 2021 – “to ensure the best player experience possible”. Its statement also made references to “organisational changes” within the team that it would share at a later date.
Paradox and Hardsuit have now followed up that earlier statement with a new message. In it, they confirm that Brian Mitsoda and Ka’ai Cluney are no longer part of the development team, and that “this was a joint decision made by the leadership of Hardsuit Labs and Paradox Interactive.” Alexandre Mandryka – who has worked on the likes of Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry – has been brought in as creative consultant, to fill the creative director role.
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“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”, Paradox and Hardsuit’s statement continued. “We wish them both the best in their future endeavours.”