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

The creator of the highly acclaimed Bloodborne 60fps patch, Lance McDonald, has recently announced that he received a DMCA takedown notice from Sony Interactive Entertainment. In a tweet, McDonald shared that he was asked to remove all links to the patch he had previously made available online, and he has complied with the request.

McDonald also referenced a YouTube video he posted in 2021 about the Bloodborne 60fps patch and recalled an amusing encounter with former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida. During their meeting, McDonald revealed that he creates mods for PlayStation games, specifically mentioning the 60fps mod for Bloodborne, which elicited a hearty laugh from Yoshida.

Bloodborne, developed by FromSoftware, remains one of the most enigmatic titles in the video game industry. Since its successful launch on the PS4, Sony has not made any official updates, leaving fans clamoring for a next-gen patch to boost the game's frame rate from 30fps to 60fps, as well as a remaster or a sequel.

In the absence of official updates, enthusiasts like McDonald have stepped in to fill the void. Recently, the gaming community achieved a significant milestone by getting PS4 emulators to run Bloodborne at 60fps on PC, a feat covered by Digital Foundry in a video on "a breakthrough in PS4 emulation" via ShadPS4. This advancement may have prompted Sony's aggressive response, leading IGN to reach out to Sony for a statement.

Earlier this month, Yoshida shared his theory on the lack of Bloodborne updates in an interview with Kinda Funny Games. He speculated that FromSoftware's director, Hidetaka Miyazaki, who deeply cherishes Bloodborne, might be too busy to work on an update himself and is unwilling to let anyone else handle it. Yoshida emphasized that this is just his personal theory and not an insider revelation, noting the respect the PlayStation team has for Miyazaki's wishes.

Despite nearly a decade passing since the game's release, Bloodborne remains untouched. While Miyazaki often avoids direct comments on Bloodborne's future, citing FromSoftware's lack of ownership over the IP, he did acknowledge in a February interview last year that the game could benefit from being released on more modern hardware.