It’s not long until Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 finally comes out–something that seems like an achievement in its own right given its almost-cancellation, multiple delays, and layoffs at developer The Chinese Room. That impending release does appear to come with a small caveat, however. As reported by Eurogamer, while the base game will feature four clan types, there are two more that will be available at launch–as long as you’re willing to pay for them.
These two extra clans, Lasombra and Toreador, will come as part of the Shadows and Silk add-on pack, which will set you back $22, and it seems like there’s no other way to get them. Eurogamer notes how one big issue here is that not only do clans affect how you play, but even shape the difficulty of your playthrough. The original Bloodlines also notably features seven clans in total.
While attending Gamescom, Rock Paper Shotgun had the opportunity to speak to The Chinese Room and asked about the decision to turn these clans into DLC as opposed to including them in the base game. The simple answer is just that the new clans were additional work on top of the developer’s original plans for the game. This additional work occasionally came at publisher Paradox’s request, so the overall argument is that it’s fair to sell them separately because it was extra work.
Narrative director Ian Thomas further explained how over the course of development and those numerous delays, a “huge amount of changes” have been made to the game, “Including a massive amount of story content and features and all the rest of it.
“So we have been expanding it from where we originally planned to land it, I think, constantly, and Paradox have been really good when we go, or when the clients go, or when Paradox go, ‘We should add a bit more here. Let’s push the date back.’ As you know, the date has pushed back, but that has been to fatten it out into something that we feel does land where the players want it.”
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is due out October 21, and will be available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
