Paradox Interactive has confirmed what many industry analysts feared: Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has failed to meet commercial expectations following its release in October 2025.
In a financial statement issued today, the publisher announced a decision to make a non-cash write-down of MSEK 355 (approximately £26.5 million) regarding capitalised development costs for the title.
For readers unfamiliar with corporate financial accounting, a “write-down” is essentially an admission that an asset, in this case, the video game, is worth significantly less than the value currently listed on the company’s books. It is a formal recognition that the money spent developing the game is unlikely to be recouped through future sales. This MSEK 355 hit comes in addition to the quarter’s already scheduled amortisation of MSEK 346.
While Fredrik Wester, CEO of Paradox Interactive, praised the final product delivered by the developers, the financial reality paints a starker picture.
Wester said in a statement:
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is a strong vampire fantasy and we are pleased with the developers’ work on the game. We’ve had high expectations for a long time, since we saw that it was a good game with a strong IP in a genre with a broad appeal. A month after release we can sadly see that sales do not match our projections, which necessitates the write-down. The responsibility lies fully with us as the publisher.”
A Long, Dark Road
The journey to this financial disappointment has been arduous. Geek Native first reported on the gameplay reveal back in 2019, when the title was slated for a 2020 release under Hardsuit Labs’ stewardship.
That version of the game never materialised. Following high-profile staff departures and indefinite delays, development duties were eventually handed to The Chinese Room, a studio best known for walking simulators like Dear Esther. While the game finally launched on 21 October 2025, the years of rebooted development clearly inflated costs to a level that the final sales figures could not sustain.
Retreating to Core Territory
Perhaps most significant for fans of the World of Darkness setting is Wester’s comment regarding the company’s future direction. Paradox is known as a titan of the Grand Strategy genre (Crusader Kings, Stellaris), and this foray into first-person action-roleplaying seems to have soured their appetite for genre experimentation.
Wester explained:
The game is outside of our core areas, in hindsight it is clear that this has made it difficult for us to gauge sales. Going forward, we focus our capital to our core segments and, at the same time, we’ll evaluate how we best develop World of Darkness’ strong brand catalogue in the future.”
This signals a potential pivot away from publishing AAA-style RPGs internally, potentially leaving the World of Darkness IP to live on primarily through licensing deals, visual novels, and its tabletop roots.
Despite the financial blow, Paradox has confirmed that support for Bloodlines 2 will not cease immediately. The game has two expansions planned as part of its Premium Edition, and Wester confirmed that the post-release plan “remains firm” to deliver these updates in the coming year.
For those who prefer their vampiric politics on the tabletop rather than the screen, the Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition roleplaying game remains available via bookshops, unaffected by the video game’s digital sales performance.
If you have yet to pick up the video game and want to judge it for yourself, keys are available via CDKeys and Green Man Gaming.
