Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines Remake Killed By CCP Games

The ambitious fan remake of role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines is no more. The creators have decided to abandon the project following legal threats by CCP Games.

"We’re very sad to report that we received a Cease & Desist e-mail from CCP Games, asking us to cease game development, remove any materials that might contain Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines, names, locations or related elements from the sites we control, and cease any further use of Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines property, and in a disappointment shared among our team we are complying with that request," said the latest update on Project Vaulderie's website. "All of this invalidates our effort and the meaning of the entire project: as a remake of Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines cannot be a remake without its original contents."

Bloodlines is a single-player PC RPG that first debuted in 2004. The player was a newly created vampire who finds themselves in a war between the various shadowy factions operating in Los Angeles. The game didn't sell well at launch - it had the good fortune of launching on the same day as Half-Life 2 - but developed a cult following because of its strong script and non-linear, Deus Ex-like gameplay. Players' choice of clan, tactics, or dialogue had a big impact on the game.

While Bloodlines was a great game to begin with,Project Vaulderie's creators sought to improve it even further. They were building a Storyteller mode akin to Vampire: The Masquerade Redemption in which a group of players completed adventures run by another player. Players would also be able to team up in the standard single-player campaign. Other improvements in the works included revised graphics, fuller character customization and a more seamless game world.

"We made it quite clear that this is a fan re-imagining of the game. We simply want to do this to keep the game, the story, and the world it lives in, alive and re-imagined for a new generation. Both the game and the idea behind the project was made sorely with out of passion."

"Since support of the game dropped long ago, ever since the fall of Troika Games, Inc., and it’s almost impossible to play without patches or bug fixes, sponsored by the community, and there is so much left that could be finished that hasn’t been touched. We want to see this game thrive, in a time and industry where games with deep lore and storylines like Bloodlines simply are hard to come by. Project Vaulderie would help revive interest in a game that was forgotten with time, and I believe all parties could have benefit from its creation."

CCP Games has owned Vampire: The Masquerade since 2006 when they merged with creators White Wolf. They attempted to create an MMORPG based on the wider World of Darkness franchise over several years. They announced this spring that they've cancelled the project.