STOCKHOLM (Nyhetsbyrån Direkt) Paradox's investment in Vampire The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 was seen as a first step for the gaming company into the role-playing game genre. But after the game has been delayed several times, that step is no longer as obvious, but Paradox now wants to wait and see how the game is received before the next big bet is made.
This is what CEO Fredrik Wester says in an interview with Nyhetsbyrån Direkt.
Paradox, with its roots in strategy and management games, announced the role-playing game Bloodlines 2 in early 2019. After shooting the game release several times, Paradox landed earlier this year in that there is no longer a fixed launch year. Throughout the delay period, however, there has been talk that Bloodlines 2 will open the door for Paradox into a third game genre - role-playing games.
Will you that you already are in the genre to stay or do you want to first see how it goes for Bloodlines 2 ?
"I would like to see how Bloodlines is received before we invest the next big money in the genre. There is a huge desire for good games in the role-playing game genre so I absolutely do not want to close any doors. But I would like to see what happens, what can we do and how Bloodlines is received ", says Fredrik Wester.
The schedule for Bloodlines 2 has been affected by both staff dropouts and the pandemic. The decision to adapt the game for the new console generations Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X has also contributed. The game has been developed for several years by Hardsuit Labs, a game studio that is 33 percent owned by Paradox, but in February the news came that a collaboration had begun with a new studio partner.
How close have you been to shutting down the game, or has it become too big not to continue?
"When we lifted the game from the original developer, we had a long review in case we should end the game or run it further. Then we were actually prepared to close the production completely. But we got a 'pitch' that we thought was convincing enough to run. played on and we have very good hopes that it will be a good game that meets the players' expectations ", says Fredrik Wester.
Paradox has not yet announced who took over the development of Bloodlines 2 . Fredrik Wester fits the question but states that it is "a very reputable and talented developer" who has made a number of different games before.
Bloodlines 2 is part of the World of Darkness series and is based on one of many brands (IP) Paradox took over with the purchase of White Wolf Publishing several years ago. The most famous are Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse and Mage: The Ascension. In addition to the ongoing work with Bloodlines 2 , Paradox has, among other things, licensed a number of IPs in recent years.
Paradox has previously said that the company will eventually want to make many of the games in the World of Darkness universe itself. But with a delay for Bloodlines 2 , it seems that at the moment it is leaning towards more outlicensing.
"I also think we should start looking a little more at which active partners want to start working with our World of Darkness IPs. We have to ask ourselves how we should do to develop the brand and the universe, if we should maybe co-finance, how we will work with licensing and so on ", says Fredrik Wester.
When Bloodlines 2's developers were replaced at the beginning of the year, there was speculation in the industry media that the game more or less needed to be redone from the beginning. However, these are speculations that Fredrik Wester does not confirm, but he states that much of the development that was done then can still be used in the game.
There has also been speculation in a launch of Bloodlines 2 at best in 2023?
"We have a while left, so you could say", comments the CEO.
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