Redundancies at studio after RPG sequel debacle
In late February, following years of tumultuous development, publisher Paradox Interactive announced further delays to its Gothic RPG Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. Most notably, Paradox announced that it was dropping the title’s long-term developer, Hardsuit Labs, who had been working on the dark adventure since as far back as 2015.
Unfortunately, it appears that the changes in development have had serious repercussions for the studio’s workforce, with various Hardsuit employees being laid off since the Paradox announcement was made. Producer Austin Maestre, as well as narrative designers Anna C. Webster, Samantha Wallschlaeger, and Nicole Stanford were among those who took to Twitter to announce that they had lost their respective roles at the Seattle-based studio, with Stanford confirming that Hardsuit’s “entire narrative team” had been affected by the decision.
In a statement to several news outlets, Hardsuit Labs expressed its regret at the layoffs.
“While we worked hard to source some great work opportunities for the studio to move forward with, we were unable to provide work for a small number of individuals and thus made the difficult decision to part ways.” reads the statement. “This decision was not made lightly and was done so only after we felt we had exhausted the opportunities to avoid such a layoff.”
“For the affected team members, with their permission, we are reaching out to partners and fellow studios in hopes that we can assist in placing our former colleagues with new opportunities. We sincerely wish the very best to our former colleagues and thank them for their contributions to the studio and our projects during their time here.”
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 continues its development on PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Paradox Interactive is yet to announce a new developer or a rescheduled release date.