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Activision told modders to stop after 3 years of remaking an obscure vampire RPG they published decades ago. So now, those modders have reworked it into a brand new story.

The modding team behind Vampire The Masquerade: Redemption Reawakened found themselves in an odd situation. They took their Skyrim remake, which was in progress, to Activision, and Paradox who each owned the rights to a part of the 2000 RPG. The crew has now revised the mod to become a'reinterpretation' of the original VtM Redemption. They have removed everything Activision can sue them for, and made it more of a 'new story.

Redemption was the very first Vampire: The Masquerade game, four years before the more famous Bloodlines. It's a much larger, more melodramatic tale than Bloodlines. It follows a crusader's doomed love as he is vamped up in medieval Europe and then put in stasis. He is then awoken to 1999. Redemption's story and characters are worth checking out. It also makes creative use of a vamp's immortal life span. However, the early aughts RPG gameplay was horrendous.

Redemption Reawakened is a modder-led project led by Galejro. The mod team made great progress in bringing the medieval and modern portions of Redemption alive, but they struggled to get the permissions (and attend security from being closed down) that they wanted. Bethesda and Paradox, which owns the Vampire: The Masquerade settings, were on board. But Activision, who published Redemption and has the rights to the specific characters and story of the game, was a bit snarky.

Galejro revealed in the latest update that the team was making progress before their Activision contact was caught up by Microsoft's mass-layoffs following the acquisition. When Galejro's team got hold of someone at Activision the answer was a flat "no". Redemption Reawakened is dead, long live the Vampire: The Maskquerade -Reawakened.

The mod team was prepared for this outcome and had built assets and systems to survive the removal Activision IP. Now, the team is convening a voting to determine Reawakened’s new direction. Will they stay as true to the source material as possible without stepping on Activision’s toes or will they use the premise to jumpstart an entirely new story?

The modified version of Skyrim that they're building seems flexible enough to handle whatever direction they decide on: While the medieval parts are still undeniably Skyrimmy the modern nights are looking pretty amazing, and Reawakened is compatible with a number in-depth rules and systemic rules taken from the tabletop games. My favorite is the fact that there's an unnoticed witness who can see your vampire blood feeding if you're in front of a glass window. That's exactly the kind of attention to detail I love in a video game.

Personally, I hope the team takes a less faithful approach. The original Redemption can be a challenge, but cheat codes will help you get through it. It is still available on GOG. This lack of permission by Activision may be a blessing, as it frees the Reawakened developers from having to be slavishly loyal to the original. At the very least, the slimmed down name is a definite improvement--"Redemption Reawakened," what a mouthful! Follow modder Galejro for updates on YouTube. You can also visit Reawakened Discord to vote on the direction of the game or contribute to the mod.

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