The Chinese Room co-founder Dan Pinchbeck has revealed that one of his top priorities when taking over Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 was convincing Paradox Interactive to drop the sequel branding entirely. In a November 2025 appearance on The Goth Boss podcast, Pinchbeck disclosed that he and his team held planning sessions specifically focused on how do we get them to not call it Bloodlines 2, believing the name created impossible expectations that would make everyone unhappy.
Why The Chinese Room Wanted a Name Change
When Paradox brought The Chinese Room on board in 2021 after removing original developer Hardsuit Labs, Pinchbeck immediately recognized a fundamental problem. You can’t make Bloodlines 2, he stated bluntly. There’s not enough time. There’s not enough money. The studio had neither the resources nor the development window to create a true sequel to the 2004 cult classic that fans had been waiting over 15 years to see.
Pinchbeck argued that keeping the Bloodlines 2 name would create a lose-lose situation. You wouldn’t make people who love Bloodlines 1 happy, and you wouldn’t make people who didn’t know about Bloodlines 1 happy because they’d never get Bloodlines 2 and they’d always get a flawed game that was built too fast and with not enough money. This remarkably candid assessment captures the impossible position The Chinese Room found itself in.
The studio’s proposal to Paradox was simple: let them make their own game within the Vampire: The Masquerade universe without the burden of sequel expectations. We can’t make Bloodlines 2, we can’t make Skyrim, but we can make Dishonored, Pinchbeck explained, referencing their vision for a more focused, linear action-RPG rather than the sprawling immersive sim fans expected from a Bloodlines sequel.
What They Wanted to Call It Instead
While Pinchbeck didn’t specify what alternate title they proposed during those planning sessions, community discussions and Steam forums suggest several alternatives would have better represented what the game actually became. Names like Seattle by Night, The Nomad, or Vampire: The Masquerade – Phyre would have positioned it as a standalone Vampire game rather than a direct sequel to Bloodlines.
These alternatives would have allowed The Chinese Room to leverage the World of Darkness setting and brand recognition without carrying the crushing weight of sequel expectations. Players would have approached it as a new Vampire story rather than measuring every decision against a beloved 21-year-old game that holds cult classic status.
A Change.org petition started by fans in September 2025 gained traction arguing Paradox should rename the game even at that late stage. The petition requested Paradox remove Bloodlines 2 from all marketing materials and allow The Chinese Room’s work to stand on its own merits with its own identity, though Paradox never seriously considered such a dramatic reversal so close to launch.
The Troubled Development History
To understand why The Chinese Room wanted the name changed, you need to grasp just how chaotic Bloodlines 2’s development became. Paradox originally partnered with Hardsuit Labs after they pitched a sequel concept. The project launched with genuine excitement in 2019, particularly because Brian Mitsoda, lead writer on the original Bloodlines, returned to helm the narrative.
By 2020, cracks started showing. The reveal trailer received criticism for dated visuals, though many fans remained optimistic about the gameplay, atmosphere, and story. Then in August 2020, Paradox abruptly removed Mitsoda and creative director Kaai Cluney from the project, citing a desire to take the game in different directions. This decision shocked fans and raised serious questions about what was happening behind the scenes.
Development went silent for nearly a year until February 2021, when Paradox announced they had removed Hardsuit Labs entirely and delayed the game indefinitely to find a new developer. Industry insiders reported that the version Hardsuit Labs had built reached alpha stage and was ready for polish and bug fixing, but Paradox wanted something closer to Cyberpunk 2077 with vampires and decided to scrap years of work.
The Chinese Room took over in 2021, but they essentially started from scratch rather than building on Hardsuit Labs’ foundation. By September 2023, Paradox formally announced The Chinese Room as the developer, targeting a Fall 2024 release. The game eventually launched in early 2025 after multiple delays, representing roughly 6 years of turbulent development across two completely different studios.
| Timeline | Event |
|---|---|
| 2019 | Bloodlines 2 announced with Hardsuit Labs developing |
| August 2020 | Original writer Brian Mitsoda and creative director removed |
| February 2021 | Hardsuit Labs removed, development restarted from scratch |
| 2021 | The Chinese Room takes over development |
| September 2023 | The Chinese Room formally announced as developer |
| November 2025 | Dan Pinchbeck reveals name change efforts on podcast |
What The Chinese Room Actually Made
The game The Chinese Room delivered bears minimal resemblance to the original Bloodlines or what Hardsuit Labs had planned. Instead of an immersive sim with multiple approaches to problems, extensive dialogue trees, and reactive quest design, Bloodlines 2 became a more linear action-RPG focused on combat and streamlined progression.
The original Bloodlines allowed players to solve problems through combat, stealth, persuasion, intimidation, or supernatural powers depending on character build. The Chinese Room’s version emphasizes combat encounters with lighter RPG systems, closer to titles like Dishonored as Pinchbeck mentioned, rather than the deep character building and branching narratives fans expected.
Character creation changed dramatically. Hardsuit Labs’ version let players start as a thin-blood vampire, a weakened strain perfect for an underdog protagonist discovering the vampire world. The Chinese Room’s version makes players an Elder vampire, fundamentally altering the power fantasy and narrative perspective. This change alone demonstrates how different the two visions were.
The Chinese Room is known for narrative-focused walking simulators like Dear Esther and Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture. While the current team includes developers from BioWare, Rocksteady, and Avalanche who have action game experience, the studio’s DNA differs significantly from what made the original Bloodlines special.
Community Response and Reception
The revelation that The Chinese Room itself wanted to drop the Bloodlines 2 name has validated many fans’ concerns. Steam forum discussions show players arguing that if the game wasn’t called Bloodlines 2, people wouldn’t be as upset about what they received. By attaching sequel expectations to a completely different type of game, Paradox set up both the developers and players for disappointment.
Reviews for the released game have been mixed to negative, with many critics noting it fails to capture what made the original special. The most common criticism centers on how linear and combat-focused it feels compared to the immersive sim design philosophy of its predecessor. Players who loved Bloodlines for its reactive quests, deep character interactions, and multiple solution paths found little of that DNA in this sequel.
However, some players who approached it as a standalone Vampire: The Masquerade action game rather than a Bloodlines sequel found more to appreciate. The combat feels competent, the atmosphere captures World of Darkness aesthetics, and the vampire powers provide satisfying progression. This split reaction proves Pinchbeck’s point that calling it Bloodlines 2 created impossible expectations.
Paradox’s Perspective
Paradox Interactive has acknowledged that Bloodlines represents a dead end franchise for them. In an October 2024 interview, executives stated that if Bloodlines 2 proves successful, any potential Bloodlines 3 would be handled by someone else, signaling the company sees the property as more trouble than it’s worth given the development nightmares.
The decision to keep the Bloodlines 2 name likely came down to business calculations. Paradox had already invested years and millions into the project under Hardsuit Labs. The Bloodlines name carried brand recognition and generated pre-orders, even if those expectations became a burden. Renaming would mean explaining to existing customers why the sequel they pre-ordered had become something else, potentially triggering refund waves.
From Paradox’s perspective, the sunk cost fallacy probably influenced decision-making. They needed to recoup massive investments from the failed Hardsuit Labs development and couldn’t afford to lose the marketing momentum and pre-existing hype the Bloodlines name provided, even if that name ultimately hurt the game’s reception.
Lessons for Game Development
This situation offers several lessons for the gaming industry. First, sequel expectations carry enormous weight, especially for cult classics with passionate fanbases. If you’re making something significantly different from what fans expect, consider whether the sequel branding helps or hurts.
Second, admitting when a project needs to pivot takes courage but often serves everyone better. Paradox’s determination to salvage Bloodlines 2 rather than canceling or renaming it meant The Chinese Room spent years trying to satisfy impossible expectations while making the game they actually had resources to create.
Third, transparency matters. The Chinese Room’s honest assessment that they couldn’t make a true Bloodlines sequel with their time and budget should have led to honest conversations with fans about what to expect. Instead, marketing continued positioning it as the long-awaited sequel, setting up disappointment.
FAQs
Did The Chinese Room want to change the name?
Yes. Co-founder Dan Pinchbeck revealed in November 2025 that getting Paradox to drop the Bloodlines 2 name was one of his top priorities when they took over development. He argued they couldn’t make a true sequel with their time and budget, and the name created impossible expectations.
What would they have called it instead?
Pinchbeck didn’t reveal specific alternative titles they proposed, but fan suggestions include Seattle by Night, The Nomad, or Vampire: The Masquerade – Phyre. Any name that positioned it as a standalone World of Darkness game rather than a direct Bloodlines sequel would have aligned with their vision.
Why did Paradox keep the Bloodlines 2 name?
Paradox likely kept the name for business reasons. The Bloodlines brand carried recognition and generated pre-orders. After investing millions across two different developers, they needed that brand recognition to recoup costs, even though the sequel expectations ultimately hurt reception.
How different is Bloodlines 2 from the original?
Extremely different. The original Bloodlines was an immersive sim with multiple approaches to problems, extensive dialogue systems, and reactive quests. Bloodlines 2 is a more linear action-RPG focused on combat with streamlined RPG mechanics, closer to Dishonored than the original Bloodlines.
What happened to the original Bloodlines 2 developer?
Paradox removed Hardsuit Labs in February 2021 after roughly 4-5 years of development. Reports suggest their version reached alpha stage, but Paradox wanted something different and scrapped their work entirely. The Chinese Room started from scratch rather than building on Hardsuit’s foundation.
Is Bloodlines 2 worth playing?
That depends on expectations. If you approach it as a standalone Vampire: The Masquerade action-RPG without comparing it to the original Bloodlines, some players find enjoyment in the combat and atmosphere. If you want a true Bloodlines sequel with immersive sim design, you’ll likely be disappointed.
Will there be a Bloodlines 3?
Paradox stated in October 2024 that Bloodlines is a dead end for them. They indicated that if Bloodlines 2 somehow succeeds, any potential third game would be handled by a different developer, suggesting Paradox wants to move on from the franchise.
Why did development restart from scratch?
When Paradox removed Hardsuit Labs, they could have had The Chinese Room continue from where development left off. Instead, they chose to restart completely, likely because Hardsuit’s vision didn’t match what Paradox wanted. This decision added years to development and increased costs substantially.
The Unfortunate Reality
Dan Pinchbeck’s revelation that The Chinese Room begged Paradox to drop the Bloodlines 2 name adds a tragic layer to this development saga. A studio explicitly told their publisher they couldn’t and shouldn’t make a Bloodlines sequel, explained exactly why those expectations would hurt everyone involved, and proposed making a different game in the same universe. Paradox said no, and events unfolded exactly as The Chinese Room predicted.
This isn’t just a story about a disappointing sequel. It’s about what happens when business decisions override creative instincts, when sunk costs drive strategy more than honest assessment, and when marketing considerations trump realistic development constraints. The Chinese Room made the game they were capable of making with their time and budget. The problem was calling it Bloodlines 2 and asking it to be something it was never going to be. Somewhere in an alternate universe, a game called Vampire: The Masquerade – Seattle by Night launched to decent reviews as a solid action-RPG in the World of Darkness, while the dream of a true Bloodlines sequel remained untouched.