Wow... This part seriously worries me. And pisses me off. About equal measures, I'd say.

What, dear Brian, about Bloodlines was so disrespectful? Because frankly it seems YOU are the one who needs to treat this much beloved game (that you apparently helped create) with "a lot more respect".

I am so god damn sick and tired of this constant "current year argument" and how everything needs to be so much more respectful and sensitive and... Jesus christ, shoot me already. Fuck this.

Good luck with that, because the people pushing identity politics into everything are all about railroading.

Bloodlines 2 gameplay trailer from E3 is up now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ5xrEb84EI

Pre-orders for the physical Collector's Edition are live, exclusively over at the official Paradox Interactive merch store.
"Bit" pricey with a €170 price tag, but hardcore fans surely couldn't care less. Limited too, so you better hustle if you want one. There's also a standalone-edition available with just the physical extras (statue, map, steel book case, soundtrack on a 7", etc), so you wouldn't even need to cancel your digital pre-order.

There have been too much silence on this game for me especially after the last not so impressive gameplay demo last year which looked really rough.

Hopefully the delay will make the next showing worth it, sadly the trailer today showed next to nothing about the game again.

Damn it, they fired Mitsoda and Cluney without explanation :/ - doesn´t bode well for the game ;/

Just heard that one. Kind of glad they went for first person view only now; otherwise I might have had pre-ordered as well. What a d-bag move :/ .

I know but thx, this game really is a crapshow and it wouldn't surprise me if they begin to rewrite things with the new no release date delay which may be extensive but we'll see.

Fire your lead writer and creative director in one swoop is bold though and i dislike it especially since it seemed these two where always the most passionate about the IP, mitsoda did write the original so it kinda sucks.

The two original main producers who were also advocating pretty hard for a "true" sequel to Bloodlines back when the sequel was announced are not associated with Bloodlines 2 any longer as well.

Christian Schlütter, who quit(?) Paradox altogether around the beginning of July, moved back to Germany and is now a producer for Yager in Berlin
and
Florian Schwarzer, who apparently is still with Paradox but reportedly not working on Bloodlines 2 anymore (probably since around the beginning of July as well?)

I don´t know whether it is possible to cancel my preorder now on GOG, but I will probably ask for it.

"4. What about pre-orders?
Pre-orders can be refunded throughout their pre-order period (as in - until they get released), and for 30 days after their release date. "

You also could just play it once it's released and, in case there's something not to your liking, refund it within those 30 days. I'll probably do just that.

Good post and while I agree with your advice, I opted to ask for a refund since the troubled development is not to my liking. The hook to the game for me was ultimately the RPG writers. Not just Mitsoda, but also including Avellone whose contributions were apparently removed completely from the game. And unlike some fans, I am actually interested in Ellison's writing and what her contributions are to the game. So between Ellison and whatever of Mitsoda's contributions remain in the game, I am still interested. But I can't justify keeping a preorder at this time.

I just canceled my preorder, it is possible. A release sometime in 2021 is so far away, I prefer spending the money on something else. I still can buy the game, when it releases... usually I don't like to preorder, I just got hyped :/
Pretty much the reason, why I cancelled the preorder. Thanks for putting it in words :)

Thank you for pointing this out.
I am just disappointed with Paradox´s move and firing Mitsoda without a reason is a red flag big enough on its own.
The whole reason people flocked to the game was precisely because they had these guys on board, and now they´re firing them?

Damn it, this was a first game in a very long time I have preordered and after this it will probably stay that way.
Never would have occurred to me that they would do such a disappointing move.

Sure, fair enough.
Given the manner in which they were unceremoniously booted from the project I can understand why most people would want to take or already have taken immediate action by cancelling their pre-order. I likely still will do so as well when or if more details should come to light.

I also cannot see them alter the story or the narrative in any significant way at this late stage in development. Mitsoda may be gone from the project physically but not in spirit. I think Bloodlines 2 is still going to retain most, if not all of Mitsoda's "handwriting", so to speak.
Even just re-recording a few lines of voice-over (and if I remember correctly the game is fully voiced except for the stereotypical mute player character) may be too costly and not fit in with the already recorded lines, in tone as well as overall context. They still might get some in but then we wouldn't even know due to not being able to compare to the original.