News about CR layoffs

[Tricontinental]

Bloodlines 2 developer The Chinese Room has laid off employees, but Paradox says the game is still coming in October

A number of TCR employees revealed the layoffs on social media, and Paradox has effectively confirmed "staffing changes" at the studio.

www.pcgamer.com

TL;DR some staff from Chinese Room were laid off, but Paradox stated to PC Gamer that the October release date for VTMB 2 is not impacted.

I hope so, since I would like to play a modern VTMB rpg someday.

 

[Necromass]

List taken from the VTMB2 thread on the RPG codex based on linkedin updates by former TCR staff.

Sandrinne Neill, Lighting Artist there since November 2024 - not credited on Still
Qin Yi, Dialogue Designer since March 2024 - not credited on Still
Kjartan Tysdal, Senior Artist since 2019 - credited on Still and Still DLC but also contributed to bloodlines 2
Adam Sharp, senior environment artist since 2022 - not credited on Still
Pascal Siddons - explicitly states he was a technical producer for Bloodlines 2
Colin Pearce, senior programmer since 2020 - credited with "additional programming" on Still, one can assume he was a full-timer on Bloodlines 2
Jacob Jackman-Tait, producer on Still and the Still DLC
One guy whose name is difficult to find but he was lead QA, and checking the Still credits and their photos, he wasn't on it
Bradley Adams, 3D animator since April 2022 - not credited on Still, credited on Still DLC
Ben Burns, animator since August 2023 - not credited on Still
Abbie Darling, producer since October 2022 - credited on the Still DLC and also says she worked on Bloodlines 2
Jamie Berry, VFX artist since September 2022 - not credited on Still, credited on Still DLC, and has a Bloodlines 2 header on his linkedin page

We also know the games lead writer has already got laid off from the studio and is working on her novel. Given how many duel credits on this list lots of manpower seems to have been taken off BL2 at least a little bit to get still wakes the deep out the door which might explain why VTMB 2 got delayed again.

 

[Azar]

Not much I can say, really. While this might not affect the release, its still not a good sign because letting your devs go is not planning for longevity. I can only hope that BL2 is enough of a success that they can re-hire those people. Too bad that this tactic might make those people miss out on bonuses.

Layoffs at Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 studio as Paradox promise RPG will still release in October

The Vampire curse continues as Bloodlines 2's current developers undergo restructuring at the hands of parent company Sumo.

www.rockpapershotgun.com

But honestly, I try to be positive but I'm running out of steam. We still haven't heard about when will the new pre-order period start. Few months left...

 

[SanicK]

It`s not a good sign indeed, even more on a game with difficult development...

 

[DebbieElla]

The release of Bloodlines 2 is unaffected by the recent staffing changes at The Chinese Room; the game is still scheduled for an October release.

 

[HighPriest]

While this isn't good news, it isn't Paradox's decision, and hopefully will have limited impact on Bloodlines 2.

For some context, TCR is a hired gun brought in to salvage this product, not an in-house Paradox studio. Specifically, TCR is part of the Sumo Group, which recently had a leadership change. Included in the press report of the leadership change was the ominous statement that they have performed "necessary adjustments to stabilise the business and focus on long-term success."

In other words, Sumo's cutting important staff in their actual production teams so the new bosses can look like they're super-important-business-dudes making super-important-business-dude decisions. Instead of... y'know, cutting layers of make-work administrators and middle-managers somewhere upstream. Those are people whose names the big bosses might actually know! Way less awkward to fire the peons who actually make video games.

 

[Necromass]

Apparently a new batch of layoffs in the wake of the studios split from sumo digital, but in a more positive note the story DLC is confirmed to still be happening by the community manager on the vtmb reddit.

 

[Azar]

TCR buying their freedom from Sumo Digital and going independent is massive positive news. The baby bird has exited the nest, now it needs to survive. Lets hope BL2 will be a big success.