Hardsuit Labs Undergo Layoffs After Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 Delay

Hardsuit Labs has apparently undergone layoffs following Paradox’s decision to remove the team from working on Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2. The news hasn’t been confirmed by Hardsuit, but several developers have shared news of their departure on social media. Last week, publisher Paradox Interactive announced that Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2 has been delayed again, this time out of 2021. Furthermore, developer Hardsuit Labs would be replaced as the primary developer on the game going forward. While the full scope of these decisions are still unclear, one apparent consequence has been a series of layoffs at the studio. While these reports indicate the layoffs primarily hit Hardsuit’s narrative department, other roles appear to have been impacted as well. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/13/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines-2-damsel-trailer"] Several members of Hardsuit’s narrative team have shared news of the layoff on their personal Twitter accounts. One former employee shared, “I’ve been laid off from my position as a narrative designer at Hardsuit Labs - alongside the rest of the narrative department (and many others).” Others, including producers and QA also appear to have been a part of the layoffs. In a statement last week, Paradox thanked Hardsuit Labs for its work on Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2 for its work up until this point. “The studio has done a tremendous job in laying the foundations for the game and we hope that you, the community, will also appreciate their contribution to Bloodlines 2,” says Paradox. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/03/22/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines-2-reveal-trailer"] Along with the previous delays that moved Bloodlines 2 out of 2020, the Creative Director left the development team in 2020 and the Senior Narrative Designer also left that same year. There is currently no replacement release date for Bloodlines 2, nor has Paradox named a successor studio to take over the project. IGN has reached out to Hardsuit Labs for comment. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is News Editor at IGN.

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