by Rik Schaffer. Troika licensed many songs for the game, and posters for real bands are featured on the walls of the game's clubs. The soundtrack was released as a limited edition CD to customers who pre-ordered the game through Best Buy. It features nine tracks by artists including Daniel Ash, Chiasm, Tiamat, Darling Violetta, Genitorturers, and Lacuna Coil. "Bloodlines", performed by Al Jourgensen and Ministry, was composed and performed specifically for the game. Activision chose the licensed tracks without input from Troika. The song "Angel" by Massive Attack was used as a placeholder on the game's menu screen. Troika could not obtain the rights to use the song in the finished game and tasked Schaffer with creating something similar. Release Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines was released on November 16, 2004, in competition with Half-Life 2, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Halo 2, and several other titles. Valve's contract for Troika's use of the Source engine guaranteed that Bloodlines could not be released before Half-Life 2 and could not be introduced to the public until after the announcement of Half-Life 2, over eighteen months after development began. In February 2004, the game was scheduled for release in spring 2005, partially to avoid competing with Half-Life 2 and the competitive Christmas period, before Activision moved the date to November 2004. Activision obtained model Erin Layne to play Jeanette in promotional material for the game. Layne worked with Bloodlines artist Tim Bradstreet for a day to provide the poses chosen by Activision to represent Jeanette in the game's posters, clothing, and other items. Despite generally favorable reviews, Bloodlines initial release sold 72,000 copies and earned approximately US$3.4 million in sales, below Troika's other games, Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura (234,000 units, $8.8 million) and The Temple of Elemental Evil (128,000 units, $5.2 million). In comparison, Bloodlines release competitor Half-Life 2 had sold 6.5 million copies by 2008. Bloodlines‍ relative failure contributed to the demise of Troika Games. Shortly after its debut, most development staff were laid off; the remaining staff tried to patch Bloodlines and develop game concepts to secure funding to keep Troika in business. Troika, unable to obtain further funding from Activision or other publishers, released its employees in two waves: the first in November 2004, followed by the remaining staff in December, except for its three founders, Anderson, Boyarsky, and Tim Cain. Some employees worked without