Bloodlines 2 finally has a solid release date, but there's a catch

I've been waiting for this day for what feels like forever. Today, at Gamescom Opening Night Light, The Chinese Room has finally solidified the Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 release date. The vampire RPG has been a long-running obsession of mine since its re-reveal last year, haunting the shadows of my mind like a Ventrue on steroids, taunting me like any good Toreador would. And now, it's real, and it's coming pretty soon, with even more clans at launch than was initially expected. But there's bad news with the good: if you want to play as either of the game's new additions, you'll have to splash the cash.

The Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 release date feels like a myth. Having started life as the bloodied childe of Hardsuit Labs, it was transferred over to The Chinese Room (the minds behind Still Wakes the Deep) in 2021. There have been myriad delays, underwhelming gameplay trailers, and concerns that the game would live and die in development hell, but now, 21 years after the original RPG was released into the wild, Bloodlines 2 finally has a concrete launch date.

Paradox has confirmed that the Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 release date is set for Tuesday October 21. But there's even more good news: instead of the original four clans at launch, there'll be six.

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The initial Bloodlines 2 clan roster included the assassin-like Banu Haqim, hard-hitting Brujah, spell-slinging Tremere, and dazzling Ventrue, and having tried all of them out over the past week or so, they're all far too much fun. But, as a hopeless Toreador fanatic in real life, I was admittedly pretty gutted when they weren't included in the initial line-up.

But I have good news for you, Kindred. Bloodlines 2 will feature both the Toreador and mysterious, shadowy Lasombra as playable clans at launch. As my two favorite World of Darkness groups, this is music to my ears, and, having played as both in-game, they're perfect representations of their tabletop counterparts.

But with good news comes bad news: both the Lasombra and Toreador are locked behind the paid Bloodlines 2's Shadows and Silk DLC, which retails for $21.99. This is the only way to unlock both clans, so unless you're willing to fork out some extra cash, you won't be able to play as either clan. I expect some disappointed sighs.

The Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 release date is set for Tuesday October 21. The base game will retail for $59.99, and pre-orders will net you the iconic Bloodlines Nostalgia Jukebox for Phyre's apartment, which plays music from the original game (the Downtown and Chinatown music are two of my favorite videogame tracks ever made).

The deluxe edition of the game also comes with a Bloodlines throwback, with the Santa Monica Memories pack letting you deck out your haven with various cosmetics inspired by the original game. Then, the premium edition includes all of the above, as well as the Shadows and Silk DLC.

If you're as excited about Bloodlines 2 as I am, check out our list of the best vampire games to help you get into the spirit of all thing World of Darkness. Alternatively, if Fabian's super sleuthing is what's intrigued you, we have a rundown of the best detective games, too (Swansong, unfortunately, doesn't make the cut).

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