Will Sony Ever Revisit Bloodborne? Fans Are Still Waiting
Will Sony ever release a remake or remaster of Bloodborne, the Dark Souls successor that became an instant classic and one of the most-loved games of 2015? Even Sony’s former games chief Shuhei Yoshida isn’t sure. Yet, while fans hold out hope for an update, Sony’s copyright enforcement team has been busy shutting down fan projects in the meantime.
Last week, Sony took down the popular 60fps mod that finally made the game run smoothly. Now, it has targeted the fan-made “Bloodborne PSX” demake, a creative reimagining of Bloodborne as a retro-style game for the original 1995 PlayStation. Sony issued a copyright takedown notice, accusing the creator, Lilith Walther, of engaging in “digital piracy.”
Walther, however, has shown a willingness to collaborate. For instance, when Sony reached out to her about her other project, “Bloodborne Kart,” she quickly changed it to “Nightmare Kart” without issue. Here’s her explanation:
“This is a fan game no more.”
So, why the aggressive takedowns? It seems Sony has enlisted MarkScan, a company that specializes in copyright enforcement, to handle these issues. MarkScan was also behind the removal of Walther’s Bloodborne PSX YouTube videos and the 60fps mod takedown, according to mod creator Lance McDonald.
MarkScan is no stranger to this work, submitting millions of takedown requests on behalf of companies like Sony, Amazon, Netflix, and more. Google’s transparency report shows that around 47% of these requests result in content removal. Why Sony is targeting these fan projects now, however, remains unclear.
Interestingly, Sony teased fans in its 30th Anniversary thank-you video last December. The video ended with Bloodborne and the phrase, “It’s about persistence.” Could it be a message to fans to keep waiting patiently?
Fan-created “demakes,” like Bloodborne PSX, are a wonderful way to celebrate and remix beloved games. Hopefully, these creative experiments won’t disappear entirely, as they likely do little to diminish demand for official remakes or remasters. For now, though, fans of Bloodborne are left waiting, wondering if Sony will ever revisit this iconic title.
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