Bloodborne PSX Demake Hit with Copyright Claim; 60fps Mod Creator Shares 'Copium' Remake Theory

The Bloodborne PSX demake has become the latest fan project to face a copyright claim, following the recent takedown of the Bloodborne 60fps mod. Lance McDonald, the creator of the 60fps mod, announced last week that he received a DMCA takedown notice from Sony Interactive Entertainment, requiring him to remove links to his patch. This action came four years after the mod's initial release.

Now, Lilith Walther, the creator behind Nightmare Kart (formerly known as Bloodborne Kart) and the visually striking Bloodborne PSX demake, reported that a YouTube video showcasing the demake was hit with a copyright claim by MarkScan Enforcement. McDonald later clarified that MarkScan is a company employed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, and the same entity responsible for the takedown of his 60fps patch page.

"And now they've DMCAed an old video about the Bloodborne PSX demake project. That's pretty wild. What the hell are they doing??" McDonald tweeted, expressing his confusion over Sony's actions.

Bloodborne, developed by FromSoftware, remains a significant enigma in the gaming world. Launched on the PS4 to widespread acclaim, the game has not seen any official updates or sequels from Sony. Fans have long been clamoring for a next-gen patch to boost the game's frame rate to 60fps from its current 30fps, alongside calls for a remaster or a sequel.

Recent advancements in PS4 emulation have allowed fans to experience a version of Bloodborne running at 60fps on PC. Digital Foundry highlighted this "breakthrough in PS4 emulation" via ShadPS4, enabling the game to be fully playable from start to finish at the desired frame rate. This development might have prompted Sony's aggressive copyright enforcement.

In response to these actions, McDonald speculated that Sony could be preparing to announce an official 60fps remake. He suggested that Sony's takedown of the 60fps patch and the demake video might be an attempt to clear the search results for "bloodborne 60fps" and "Bloodborne remake" in anticipation of their own announcement. "My copium theory is that Sony DMCAed the 60fps patch and the video about the Bloodborne demake so that when they announce a 60fps remake, google searching for 'bloodborne 60fps' and 'Bloodborne remake' won't have collisions with our fan projects," he explained.

Despite these moves, Sony has not officially indicated any plans to revisit Bloodborne. Shuhei Yoshida, a former PlayStation executive, shared his theory on the lack of updates in an interview with Kinda Funny Games. He suggested that Hidetaka Miyazaki, the game's director, is protective of Bloodborne and unwilling to let anyone else work on it due to his busy schedule with other successful projects. "I think he is interested, but he's so successful and he's so busy, so he doesn't want, he cannot do himself, but he does not want anyone else to touch it. So that's my theory. And the PlayStation team respect his wish," Yoshida said.

As Bloodborne approaches its 10th anniversary, the game remains untouched by official updates. However, Miyazaki has acknowledged that the game could benefit from being released on more modern hardware, offering a glimmer of hope to fans eager for any developments.