Sony Issues DMCA to Bloodborne 60fps Patch Creator: Timing Questioned

The creator of the high-profile Bloodborne 60fps patch, Lance McDonald, recently announced via Twitter that he received a DMCA takedown notice from Sony Interactive Entertainment. In compliance with the notice, McDonald removed all links to the patch he had previously shared online. He also referenced a YouTube video he posted in 2021 about the patch and recalled an amusing encounter with former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida, where he disclosed his creation of the 60fps mod for Bloodborne, leading to a hearty laugh from Yoshida.

Bloodborne, developed by FromSoftware and released on the PS4, has garnered immense acclaim and a fervent fanbase. Despite its success, Sony has not revisited the game with an official next-gen update to boost its frame rate from 30fps to 60fps, nor has it produced a remaster or sequel. This void has been filled by community efforts, including McDonald's mod and recent breakthroughs in PS4 emulation, such as ShadPS4, enabling full playthroughs of Bloodborne at 60fps on PC. These developments might have prompted Sony's stringent response, though IGN has sought clarification from Sony on the matter.

In an interview with Kinda Funny Games earlier this month, Shuhei Yoshida shared his personal theory on why Bloodborne has not seen further development. Having left the first-party development scene, Yoshida speculated that FromSoftware's director, Hidetaka Miyazaki, might be protective of the game due to his deep personal attachment to it. Yoshida suggested that Miyazaki, being highly successful and busy, might not want to work on it himself nor permit others to do so, and that the PlayStation team respects his stance.

Despite almost a decade passing since Bloodborne's initial release, the game remains untouched officially. While Miyazaki often evades direct questions about Bloodborne's future, citing FromSoftware's lack of ownership over the IP, he did concede in an interview last February that the game could benefit from being available on more modern hardware.