Sometimes the most honest insights come after someone leaves a project. Dan Pinchbeck, co-founder of The Chinese Room and former creative director on Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, recently gave a candid interview explaining why he departed the studio in July 2023. His revelation cuts to the heart of indie studio struggles when scaling up: he never actually wanted to make a AAA game. The compromises, politics, and creative restrictions inherent to big-budget development conflicted with everything that drew him to game creation in the first place.
The Core Admission
In an interview with Cat Burton, Pinchbeck addressed his departure bluntly: “I kind of got to point where I went, I don’t like this. I don’t like making, I didn’t want to make a AAA game.” This wasn’t a diplomatic exit statement or vague creative differences explanation. It was straightforward acknowledgment that the fundamental nature of AAA development was incompatible with his creative interests.
Pinchbeck elaborated on his creative vision for Bloodlines 2, citing dark American dramas like Succession, The Sopranos, The Wire, and House of Cards as inspirations. He wanted to anchor gothic horror in contemporary reality, exploring how monsters exist in boardrooms and bars, how immortality becomes a curse, and how power strips away humanity. This sophisticated approach came from someone primarily viewing the project as a Vampire: The Masquerade tabletop fan rather than specifically a Bloodlines video game sequel fan.
The Chinese Room’s Evolution
Understanding Pinchbeck’s frustration requires understanding The Chinese Room’s transformation. The studio started in 2007 as two artists in a bedroom at the University of Portsmouth, creating experimental Half-Life 2 mods. They built their reputation on narrative-focused walking simulators like Dear Esther and Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, games prioritizing atmosphere and storytelling over traditional gameplay.
By 2018, when Sumo Digital acquired The Chinese Room for 2.2 million pounds, the studio had established itself within a specific niche. They were the narrative specialists, the atmospheric storytellers who made players feel rather than just play. Then came the Bloodlines 2 opportunity, and suddenly the intimate studio of passionate artists became a hundred-person team working on a high-profile AAA project.
Taking Over a Troubled Project
The Chinese Room inherited Bloodlines 2 from Hardsuit Labs, who Paradox Interactive fired from the project in 2021 after years of troubled development. When The Chinese Room took over in 2023, they essentially started from scratch, dramatically overhauling the game according to their own vision while working under intense pressure and scrutiny.
Pinchbeck described the pitch as dovetailing with what Paradox wanted and the project’s current state. The inspirations were clear, but translating that vision into a AAA action RPG while satisfying publisher expectations, fan desires, and budget realities proved significantly more complicated than creating an intimate narrative experience.
The Pandemic’s Impact
In his departure announcement from July 2023, Pinchbeck cited the COVID-19 pandemic as a significant factor. “Like for so many other people, we lost friends and family during the pandemic and this has certainly played a part in my decision to see what’s out there in the world beyond the studio I’ve dedicated the last fifteen years to building,” he wrote.
The pandemic forced perspective shifts for countless people, prompting reevaluation of career priorities and life choices. For Pinchbeck, it crystallized the realization that AAA development, with its compromises and constraints, wasn’t what he wanted from his creative life. The Chinese Room had grown beyond two artists in a bedroom into a massive operation working on multiple titles. It wasn’t his studio anymore.
Creative Vision Versus AAA Realities
Pinchbeck’s blog post about leaving emphasized wanting to return to being an artist, focusing on writing, traveling, and creating without the pressures of running a large studio on major projects. This distinction between being a creative artist and managing AAA development is crucial for understanding his departure.
AAA games require compromises at every level. Publisher demands, focus testing, market analysis, monetization strategies, platform requirements, marketing synergy, and endless stakeholder meetings all dilute creative vision. What starts as a sophisticated exploration of gothic horror grounded in contemporary darkness gets negotiated into something safer, more commercial, more designed-by-committee.
For someone who built their reputation on uncompromising artistic vision in walking simulators, the transition to AAA development must have felt like creative suffocation. Every bold choice gets questioned, every unusual decision requires justification, every artistic impulse needs approval from people concerned primarily with sales projections.
Bloodlines 2’s Reception
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 finally launched in late 2025 after years of troubled development. Reviews described it as competent but underwhelming, with lifeless environments, mediocre graphics, and combat being the sole bright spot. The sophisticated narrative exploration Pinchbeck envisioned apparently didn’t survive the development process intact.
Whether his departure contributed to that outcome or simply reflected recognition that his vision was being compromised regardless of his involvement remains unclear. What’s evident is that the final product didn’t achieve the critical acclaim or commercial success needed to justify the turbulent development cycle.
The Indie to AAA Pipeline Problem
Pinchbeck’s experience illustrates a broader industry issue. Publishers seek successful indie studios to develop major projects, assuming the creative talent that made intimate games special will scale to AAA production. But the skills and temperament required for indie success often conflict directly with AAA development realities.
Indie developers thrive on creative freedom, rapid iteration, personal vision, and intimate team dynamics. AAA development demands hierarchy, extensive documentation, committee approval, market research, and corporate politics. These aren’t just different scales of the same work, they’re fundamentally different processes requiring different mindsets.
Studios like The Chinese Room face impossible choices when presented AAA opportunities. Refusing means staying small but maintaining creative integrity. Accepting means resources and reach but potentially losing what made you special in the first place. There’s no obviously correct answer.
What Comes Next
Pinchbeck stated his intention to step back and focus on being an artist again, pursuing writing, traveling, and creating without the burden of managing large teams on major projects. Whether that means solo creative work, returning to small indie projects, or something entirely different remains to be seen.
The Chinese Room continues operating under Sumo Digital ownership, now as a AAA development studio rather than the boutique narrative specialists they once were. Still Wakes the Deep, a narrative horror game co-written by Pinchbeck before his departure, launched in 2024, representing the final project bearing his direct creative influence.
Lessons for the Industry
Pinchbeck’s candid admission that he never wanted to make a AAA game provides valuable insight for publishers seeking indie talent. Not every successful indie developer aspires to AAA budgets and team sizes. Creative fulfillment often comes from constraints, limitations, and intimate collaboration rather than massive resources and complex hierarchies.
Publishers would benefit from asking indie studios what they actually want rather than assuming bigger budgets and larger teams represent obvious upgrades. Some creators genuinely prefer working on smaller projects where their vision remains intact from concept to completion. Forcing them into AAA development wastes everyone’s time and money while producing compromised results.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Dan Pinchbeck leave The Chinese Room?
Pinchbeck left in July 2023, stating he fundamentally didn’t want to make a AAA game like Bloodlines 2. He cited pandemic losses, wanting to return to being an artist focused on writing and creating, and the reality that The Chinese Room had grown beyond his vision of an intimate creative studio.
What was Dan Pinchbeck’s role on Bloodlines 2?
Pinchbeck served as creative director when The Chinese Room took over Bloodlines 2 development from Hardsuit Labs in 2023. He left the studio and project before completion, with his creative vision apparently not surviving intact in the final game.
What was Pinchbeck’s creative vision for Bloodlines 2?
He cited dark American dramas like Succession, The Sopranos, The Wire, and House of Cards as inspirations, wanting to anchor gothic horror in contemporary reality and explore how power, immortality, and monstrosity manifest in modern society.
What games did Dan Pinchbeck create before Bloodlines 2?
Pinchbeck co-founded The Chinese Room and served as creative director on narrative-focused games including Dear Esther, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, and Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs. He also co-wrote Still Wakes the Deep before departing.
How did Bloodlines 2 perform after release?
The game launched in late 2025 to mixed reviews describing it as competent but underwhelming, with lifeless environments, mediocre graphics, and combat being the primary positive aspect. It failed to achieve critical acclaim after years of troubled development.
Is The Chinese Room still making games?
Yes, The Chinese Room continues operating under Sumo Digital ownership, now as a larger AAA-focused studio rather than the boutique narrative specialists they were under Pinchbeck’s leadership.
What is Dan Pinchbeck doing now?
After leaving The Chinese Room, Pinchbeck stated his intention to focus on being an artist again through writing, traveling, and creating without managing large teams on major projects. His specific current projects haven’t been publicly announced.
Conclusion
Dan Pinchbeck’s admission that he never wanted to make a AAA game is refreshingly honest in an industry where success is typically measured by bigger budgets, larger teams, and more ambitious projects. His experience on Bloodlines 2 demonstrates that scaling up isn’t always scaling better, especially for creators whose talents flourish within constraints rather than despite them.
The Chinese Room’s journey from two artists in a bedroom creating atmospheric walking simulators to a hundred-person AAA studio developing high-profile sequels represents both success and loss. They gained resources, reach, and industry recognition. They lost creative freedom, artistic focus, and their co-founder who couldn’t reconcile his vision with AAA realities.
Pinchbeck’s departure before Bloodlines 2’s completion likely spared him from witnessing his sophisticated creative vision get diluted through development compromises. The final product’s underwhelming reception suggests his instincts about not wanting to make a AAA game were correct, at least for this particular project.
The broader lesson extends beyond one developer or one troubled game. Creative fulfillment doesn’t always align with commercial ambition. Not every talented indie developer dreams of AAA budgets. Sometimes the best thing a successful creator can do is recognize when a project conflicts with their fundamental interests and walk away, even if it means leaving behind years of work and a high-profile opportunity. Pinchbeck did exactly that, choosing artistic integrity over AAA prestige. Whether that decision proves wise long-term, it was undeniably authentic. And in an industry filled with compromised visions and corporate politeness, authenticity deserves recognition.