We, the fans, demand Paradox change the name of Bloodlines 2

Recent signers:
jonathan fontenot and 19 others have signed recently.

The Issue

To Whom It Should Concern - Paradox Interactive,

With the release of your newest World of Darkness - Vampire game coming this October, the exposure it's getting is, at best, divisive. In case the reason for this has not made it to the decision-makers there, a large portion of it is wrapped around the expectations of it being a sequel to Troika Games' cult classic VtM - Bloodlines. Over the past 5 years since you fired Hardsuit Labs, we have come to understand that this game is not really a sequel in anything other than name.

We ask that you allow this upcoming game, which we understand The Chinese Room have been working very hard on, to stand on it's own merits, with it's own title. Remove Bloodlines 2 from the title, all material, etc and rename it however you choose. We understand VtM - Nomad would have been a better name? Why Rename?

  • It will stop confusing the fans of the previous game as to what to expect in gameplay, story, and tone. This will do a lot to remove most of the negative criticism currently pointed at the content of the game (though it may not remove the criticism over Paradox's business decisions).
  • Because it is not a sequel, it is a dishonest, misleading, and immoral business decision to use the title simply to bring in a pre-built audience. You have a chance to correct this prior to launch while still retaining eyes on the project.
  • Having a game set in a well known IP such as Vampire: The Masquerade should be enough. Plenty of games have been made in The World of Darkness that are nothing like Bloodlines and stand up well on their own - such as Swansong, Justice, and Redemption (though not Blood Hunt, SNS). This could be one such game, if you allow it.
  • Leave room for an ACTUAL sequel. We get it... making a game is not easy, and we may NEVER see a true sequel/continuation/continuity to the end of Bloodlines - but the chance of going from 1% to 0% by misusing the title/franchise will be the sunlight in the coffin for those of us old fans who have been holding out hope all the time.
  • Consumers like businesses who can admit when they have messed up and actually work hard to repair that lost faith. Hello Games' No Man's Sky is seen as "The Greatest Redemption Arc in Gaming History", without hyperbole. We know the standard business practice is to admit no wrong, show no weakness, etc - but audiences have evolved and come to find that practice to be a sure sign of a bad business with no interest in doing the right thing. You have a chance to create your own redemption arc for this game with one move.

 

To Those Finding This - The audience/fans/gamers/etc, What's the deal?

If you're not aware of what's going on, instead of re-telling the tale completely, I've compiled a list of links/articles/etc and put them in chronological order, if you want to know the overarching story - as much as has been made public:

 

So you say this isn't a sequel. Why?

For simplicity sake, there are 3 points that can be tested to see if a game is a sequel:

  1. Similar Game Mechanics - Not only does the game's few mechanics more closely resemble the more recent V5, as opposed to Bloodline 1's use of V3 rules (and all the non-mechanics associated with it) - but a growing list is being compiled as to what is missing between the 2 games: https://www.reddit.com/r/TwoBestFriendsPlay/comments/1n6t6g3/compiled_list_of_features_known_to_be_absent_from/
  2. Storyline Continuation/Continuity - As far as any story details have been revealed, there is close to no reference to anything to do with the first game. The few things that are, would be more appropriate to say these are elements "are part of the World of Darkness lore" or "a nod" to BL1. You can see with the current state of their IMDb, the only character that has a credit in both games is Damsel: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10064424/
  3. Similar Gameplay Vibe - BL1 was a full CRPG with the entire Camarilla list of clans to choose from - combat, inventory, skills, hacking/typing minigame, with a heavy emphasis in the social aspects of gameplay and use of powers in dialogue. In fact, It was programmed so the world reacted differently based on your choices and clan - Venture gets in good with the prince and gets a nice apartment, Tremere got a study at the chantry, Malkavian and Nosferatu had completely unique gameplay from ANY of the others. From what we're seeing, this is being sold as an "Action RPG" but from what gameplay looks like, feels more like a walking simulator and storyline than an RPG as VtM defines it.

Overall, this new game fails to meet the standards of any of these points. 

Other Paradox Controversies:

 

If you want to see what the vibe of the community at large is, you can really see it here:

 

If we're being honest, we have little hope that Paradox is in line with us enough to care what we think. They might see our signatures and laugh it off. At the very least, we will have made our voices known - and they will have to actively choose to ignore the wishes of those who love Bloodlines. So sign if you believe in ethical business practices. Sign if you love Vampire: The Masquerade. Sign if you hold out hope of having a real sequel to Bloodlines one day!

 

Please, sign and SPREAD THE WORD!

 

avatar of the starter
Christopher EdenPetition Starter
Media inquiries

36

Recent signers:
jonathan fontenot and 19 others have signed recently.

The Issue

To Whom It Should Concern - Paradox Interactive,

With the release of your newest World of Darkness - Vampire game coming this October, the exposure it's getting is, at best, divisive. In case the reason for this has not made it to the decision-makers there, a large portion of it is wrapped around the expectations of it being a sequel to Troika Games' cult classic VtM - Bloodlines. Over the past 5 years since you fired Hardsuit Labs, we have come to understand that this game is not really a sequel in anything other than name.

We ask that you allow this upcoming game, which we understand The Chinese Room have been working very hard on, to stand on it's own merits, with it's own title. Remove Bloodlines 2 from the title, all material, etc and rename it however you choose. We understand VtM - Nomad would have been a better name? Why Rename?

  • It will stop confusing the fans of the previous game as to what to expect in gameplay, story, and tone. This will do a lot to remove most of the negative criticism currently pointed at the content of the game (though it may not remove the criticism over Paradox's business decisions).
  • Because it is not a sequel, it is a dishonest, misleading, and immoral business decision to use the title simply to bring in a pre-built audience. You have a chance to correct this prior to launch while still retaining eyes on the project.
  • Having a game set in a well known IP such as Vampire: The Masquerade should be enough. Plenty of games have been made in The World of Darkness that are nothing like Bloodlines and stand up well on their own - such as Swansong, Justice, and Redemption (though not Blood Hunt, SNS). This could be one such game, if you allow it.
  • Leave room for an ACTUAL sequel. We get it... making a game is not easy, and we may NEVER see a true sequel/continuation/continuity to the end of Bloodlines - but the chance of going from 1% to 0% by misusing the title/franchise will be the sunlight in the coffin for those of us old fans who have been holding out hope all the time.
  • Consumers like businesses who can admit when they have messed up and actually work hard to repair that lost faith. Hello Games' No Man's Sky is seen as "The Greatest Redemption Arc in Gaming History", without hyperbole. We know the standard business practice is to admit no wrong, show no weakness, etc - but audiences have evolved and come to find that practice to be a sure sign of a bad business with no interest in doing the right thing. You have a chance to create your own redemption arc for this game with one move.

 

To Those Finding This - The audience/fans/gamers/etc, What's the deal?

If you're not aware of what's going on, instead of re-telling the tale completely, I've compiled a list of links/articles/etc and put them in chronological order, if you want to know the overarching story - as much as has been made public:

 

So you say this isn't a sequel. Why?

For simplicity sake, there are 3 points that can be tested to see if a game is a sequel:

  1. Similar Game Mechanics - Not only does the game's few mechanics more closely resemble the more recent V5, as opposed to Bloodline 1's use of V3 rules (and all the non-mechanics associated with it) - but a growing list is being compiled as to what is missing between the 2 games: https://www.reddit.com/r/TwoBestFriendsPlay/comments/1n6t6g3/compiled_list_of_features_known_to_be_absent_from/
  2. Storyline Continuation/Continuity - As far as any story details have been revealed, there is close to no reference to anything to do with the first game. The few things that are, would be more appropriate to say these are elements "are part of the World of Darkness lore" or "a nod" to BL1. You can see with the current state of their IMDb, the only character that has a credit in both games is Damsel: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10064424/
  3. Similar Gameplay Vibe - BL1 was a full CRPG with the entire Camarilla list of clans to choose from - combat, inventory, skills, hacking/typing minigame, with a heavy emphasis in the social aspects of gameplay and use of powers in dialogue. In fact, It was programmed so the world reacted differently based on your choices and clan - Venture gets in good with the prince and gets a nice apartment, Tremere got a study at the chantry, Malkavian and Nosferatu had completely unique gameplay from ANY of the others. From what we're seeing, this is being sold as an "Action RPG" but from what gameplay looks like, feels more like a walking simulator and storyline than an RPG as VtM defines it.

Overall, this new game fails to meet the standards of any of these points. 

Other Paradox Controversies:

 

If you want to see what the vibe of the community at large is, you can really see it here:

 

If we're being honest, we have little hope that Paradox is in line with us enough to care what we think. They might see our signatures and laugh it off. At the very least, we will have made our voices known - and they will have to actively choose to ignore the wishes of those who love Bloodlines. So sign if you believe in ethical business practices. Sign if you love Vampire: The Masquerade. Sign if you hold out hope of having a real sequel to Bloodlines one day!

 

Please, sign and SPREAD THE WORD!

 

avatar of the starter
Christopher EdenPetition Starter
Media inquiries

The Decision Makers

The Chinese Room
The Chinese Room
Developer
Paradox Interactive
Paradox Interactive
Publisher

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Petition created on September 4, 2025