Gloo
Sentinel
Kinda sad news but on the other hand some kind of message saying : Time to move on folks, use your energy and resources creating something new !
But that does not change the fact that it is simply dumb (as already said, shooting down free advertising rarely makes for an intelligent move) and IMO (and most others as well, I would say) ethically wrong as nobody working on the project was earning money or hurting CCP in any other way.
But that will not be the case anymore, and it’s clear that there won’t be any newer titles created under the Vampire the Masquerade brand…
It isn't dumb to protect your own economic property. It's usually unethical to take somebody's property and use it for your own, even if you don't plan to directly profit from it. The presence of this project represents a potential loss of sales, so it's not "free" to the owner.
This is the part that I describe as outdated thinking. I understand how copyright works, and the need to reasonably protect it. But the company doesn't necessarily have to fear the community iterating on its work.
It's not outdated thinking; it's a standard business model. The example you list of Bethesda is an exception, and if it works for them then good. That isn't going to work for everybody.