Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has lost its narrative lead Brian Mitsoda after he was “suddenly terminated” by Paradox Interactive and Hardsuit Labs.
According to Paradox in a release, the studio and Hardsuit stated “organizational changes” led to Mitsoda and creative director Ka’ai Cluney not being a part of the team anymore while the axe was brought down by the heads of both studios.
“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 wrote. “We wish them both the best in their future endeavors.”
The studio also announced it would be bringing in Alexandre Mandryka to help finish the game as a creative consultant in Cluney’s place, while no other information was revealed for a lead narrative position. Over an email to Rock Paper Shotgun, Mitsoda stated he was shocked to hear about his termination at the studio while he had been working on Bloodlines 2 since the very beginning of its conception.
“And I’m incredibly disappointed and frustrated to say that this is where it ends for me on the project,” Mitsoda wrote. “I was not part of the conversations that led to the decision to delay production, and to my knowledge, there were no delays caused by the Bloodlines 2 narrative development. I am confident and proud of the work that I and my team put forward. When that work will be seen and what form it will take is unknown to me.”
Mitsoda then thanked fellow developers and supporters for working on the sequel along the way. It’s still unknown why both Mitsoda and Cluney were let go from Bloodlines 2 mid-production while the game continues to see a release window of 2020.
