Creator of Bloodborne 60fps Patch Says Sony Has Sent Him a DMCA Takedown — but Why Now?

The creator of a popular Bloodborne 60fps patch has received a DMCA takedown notice from Sony. Lance McDonald, a well-known video game modder, announced the takedown on Twitter, stating he removed all links to the patch as requested by Sony Interactive Entertainment.

McDonald's announcement referenced a past encounter with former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida, where he jokingly revealed his creation of the Bloodborne 60fps mod. Yoshida's reaction was described as laughter.

Bloodborne's continued absence of an official next-gen patch, remaster, or sequel remains a significant point of contention among fans. The game's 30fps performance on PS4 is a frequent complaint. While McDonald's mod attempted to address this, recent advancements in PS4 emulation, specifically ShadPS4 highlighted by Digital Foundry, now allow for a near-remaster experience at 60fps on PC. This development raises speculation about the timing of Sony's DMCA. IGN has reached out to Sony for comment.

Earlier this month, Yoshida offered his personal theory regarding Bloodborne's lack of updates in an interview with Kinda Funny Games. He speculated that Hidetaka Miyazaki, the game's creator, deeply cherishes Bloodborne and is reluctant to allow others to work on it, even for a simple remaster or update. Yoshida emphasized this is purely speculation and not based on inside information.

Despite Miyazaki's frequent deflection of Bloodborne questions in interviews, citing FromSoftware's lack of IP ownership, he did acknowledge in February 2023 that a release on more modern hardware would benefit the game. The situation leaves Bloodborne, nearly a decade after its release, in a state of prolonged inactivity.