I’m glad Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 reversed course on this problematic Premium Edition bonus

Paradox Interactive and The Chinese Room have reversed course on locking two of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2’s clans — its form playable character classes — behind the Premium Edition of the game. Now, anyone who buys the vampire RPG will be able to choose from six clans at launch.

This decision was reversed following harsh backlash to this Premium Edition content following the release date reveal at Gamescom Opening Night Live. It shows that players do have some power to voice their concerns over the problematic monetization of the games they are looking forward to.

Which clans are no longer Premium Edition exclusives in Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2?

All six clans will be available to choose from on October 21

Previously, the Lasombra and Toreador clans were going to be available at launch, but only for those who bought the $90 Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 Premium Edition rather than the $60 base game. Obviously, this did not go over well for players who had been waiting over six years to play this game, which had been stuck in development hell.

The backlash was pretty immediate, and the developers made it clear they were reassessing the decision in a previous post on X. Today, alongside the release of an overview trailer, it was confirmed that all players will have to the following six vampire clans, each of which has unique abilities and skill trees, when they play the game:

• Banu Haqim
• Brujah
• Lasombra
• Tremere
• Toreador
• Ventrue

In a press release, executive producer Marco Behrmann directly thanked the community for its “frank feedback” about those two clans being locked behind a paywall. This comes nearly two months after Microsoft dropped the price of The Outer Worlds 2 following backlash over its $80 price tag, another example of the company responding to criticism over harsh game pricing.

It’s nice that players were able to get Paradox and The Chinese Room to reverse course on locking these character classes behind a pay wall. Still, plenty of DLC has already been announced for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 ahead of launch.

Now that it no longer includes those clans, the Premium Edition will now feature a cosmetic DLC pack called Santa Monica Memories and two new “Story Pack” DLCs: Loose Cannon (out Q2 2026) and The Flower & the Flame (out Q3 2026). If you don’t get the Premium Edition, the story packs can be purchased individually for $15 each or as part of a $35 expansion pass.

There will still be plenty of ways for players to spend extra money on Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, but it won’t come at the cost of intentionally locking out certain clans for some players at release.