Paradox Announces 6 Vampire The Masquerade Games As Part of New Unbound Initative

World of Darkness has launched an initiative called Unbound, which will allow independent developers to create games in the Vampire: The Masquerade world.


Published: April 21, 2022 10:54 AM /

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Unbound

Paradox Interactive, via its World of Darkness brand, has announced Unbound, an initiative for independent developers to create games set in the Vampire: The Masquerade world. Launching alongside the initiative is six titles from the Vampire Jam, where more than 80 Vampire: The Masquerade titles were created. These are: Praxis, The Chantry Trials, The Game of Elders, Descent, Prodigal, and The Autumn People. 

As for what these games are, in Praxis, players play as a vampire who seeks revenge on the tyrannical Prince of Portland and slayer of his sire. The Chantry Trials is a short horror puzzle game where the player is going through his first round of trials. The Game of Elders has players trying to survive as an Elder with their deck of cards the entire night, and Decent is a horror title that has players trying to discover the secrets of the Kindred. Prodigal is an atmospheric point and click title, and The Autumn People has players fighting the Second Inquisition in a first-person shooter.

“Following the Vampire Jam last year, we realized how passionate our community is about creating Vampire: The Masquerade games. While we could only award one grand prize to Heartless Lullaby, we knew we had to create a platform that empowered our community to work on the projects they love while giving them the support they need to be successful,” Martyna Zych, Community Developer for World of Darkness, said. “As long as World of Darkness fans continue making great games, there will be more titles coming through Unbound.” 

Independent developers are welcome to submit their Unbound submissions at this link, and in there it's revealed that developers can retain up to a 67% cut, and it's up to the developers how much they want to pay the itch.io platform for exclusively hosting and distributing their game. Developers who also create assets that do not use the World in Darkness IP elements can monetize them as artbooks, soundtracks, asset store entries, and presumably more. Games cannot use Vampire: The Masquerade or World of Darkness in their titles, and must either be free or cost at least $5.99

“Unbound gives us an opportunity for the first time in World of Darkness history where video game developers can use our IP commercially with ease and flexibility. This initiative continues World of Darkness' long history of supporting UGC and the talented communities around Vampire: The Masquerade. Through World of Darkness Unbound, talented creators get access to a renowned-IP with a global audience to launch their vision.,” Sean Greaney, Vice President, World of Darkness, said. “Unbound gives independent studios an opportunity to build out a proof of concept, showcase it to our audience, and even open up opportunities to work with the brand on a deeper level.”

All games that launch through the Unbound label will receive a streamlined launch and may receive additional marketing support from World of Darkness. Right now, games submitted to Unbound must be set in the Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition story world to be considered, which means no steampunk or other alt-history. It also means that other World of Darkness parts of the world such as WerewolfMage, and more. After submission, World of Darkness will get back to developers about the results of their selection.

For more information on Unbound, World in Darkness, and everything in between, stay tuned to TechRaptor.

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Patrick is a former Staff Writer for TechRaptor and has been gaming on every console he could get since he could hold a controller. He’s been writing for… More about Patrick