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

Lance McDonald, the creator of the popular Bloodborne 60fps patch, has announced that he received a DMCA takedown notice from Sony Interactive Entertainment. The notice demanded the removal of links to the patch, which McDonald has complied with. He highlighted the irony, referencing a past meeting with former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida where he jokingly mentioned creating the mod, prompting laughter from Yoshida.

Bloodborne's status as a highly sought-after game remains a significant industry enigma. Despite its critical acclaim and commercial success upon its PS4 release, Sony has yet to officially address fan demands for a 60fps patch, remaster, or sequel. This absence has fueled community efforts, such as McDonald's mod and recent breakthroughs in PS4 emulation using ShadPS4, enabling near-remaster quality 60fps gameplay on PC, as highlighted by Digital Foundry. Whether this emulation progress contributed to Sony's DMCA action remains unclear; IGN has reached out to Sony for comment.

Shuhei Yoshida recently offered his personal theory regarding Bloodborne's inactivity in an interview with Kinda Funny Games. He speculated that Hidetaka Miyazaki's deep affection for the game and his current workload prevent him from overseeing any updates or remasters, and that PlayStation respects his wishes. Yoshida emphasized this was merely a theory, not leaked information.

Despite Miyazaki's frequent deflection of Bloodborne questions, citing FromSoftware's lack of IP ownership, he did acknowledge in February 2022 that the game would benefit from a release on more modern hardware. The game remains dormant almost a decade after its initial release, leaving fans hopeful for future developments.