Blood Omen 2's "creative seeds were sown" in 1999, and the finished product was released in 2002, six months after "Soul Reaver 2", for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows and Nintendo GameCube. It was not produced with the involvement of the "Soul Reaver" crew, instead being created by a new team at Crystal Dynamics under the direction of Glen Schofield. A key point of focus for the developers was the main character, Kain; Crystal Dynamics had "a huge investment in Kain as a character". Shifting the focus of gameplay towards action, gore and combat instead of puzzle-solving, it retains several of the qualities which made the previous games popular, but was criticized for lacking innovation. Despite middling critical reception, it was released on four platforms and sold well. The setting, an enormous industrial city, is a departure for the series. While the game was released after "Soul Reaver 2", the events of the game actually happen after "Blood Omen" but before the events of "Soul Reaver", in an alternate timeline created from the "Soul Reaver 2" events. In "Blood Omen 2" players control a younger Kain after an unsuccessful campaign to conquer Nosgoth, as he is opposed by traitorous vampires and a new enemy.