Bloodborne is one of the most popular games of the PS4 generation, and fans have been wanting 4K60 FPS upgrades, a proper remaster, or even a full-blown remake for some time now. Indeed, it would seem Sony, as the Bloodborne IP owner, is leaving money on the table by not working on this somehow. However, according to an insider, it may not be as simple as it sounds (not that game development ever is, but that this situation is particularly tricky).
During the Xbox Expansion Pass episode 146, Jeff Grubb answered a ton of questions regarding Halo Infinite's high-profile departures, Tokyo Game Show, and surprisingly enough, Bloodborne. When asked if there was anything in works for the game, Grubb said that there was nothing happening, explaining why that was, and it involves Elden Ring.
The answer is twofold. The first reason why nothing is in the works for Bloodborne is because of FromSoftware's involvement with Elden Ring. It's easily the biggest game out of its catalog, and working on it kept the company incredibly busy ahead of its release. Now that it's out, it's still too busy working on post-launch support for the game. Indeed, the open-world FromSoftware title has received a number of updates since launch, and that's likely to continue. This is also a possible indication that FromSoftware is working on Elden Ring DLC (relevant portion seen at the 58:50 mark below.)
The second reason eliminates the obvious. Because Sony is the IP owner, it could in theory assign a remaster or remake to another company to work on. Given Demon's Souls Remake, many rumors have pointed to developer Bluepoint Games as the one assigned to Bloodborne Remastered or Remake. That's not the case, according to Jeff Grubb who highlights his understanding here may be a bit spotty. As he understands it, because Bloodborne's code is so complex and so "spaghetti" in spots, FromSoftware would essentially need to "sherpa" any outside development studio through it. It's not something that can be picked up and dropped off anywhere, and this then goes back to reason number one: FromSoftware is too busy to do this.
Even though Elden Ring is incredibly popular, Bloodborne remains one of the most beloved FromSoftware games there is, and many fans may be reasonably disappointed by this. However, that doesn't mean a Bloodborne remaster or remake will never happen, just that it's not in the works right now. And if anything were to happen with it, it could be years. Focusing on Elden Ring, given how it has dominated gaming this year, makes sense, but perhaps before moving on to another Souls project, FromSoftware can find the time to go back to Bloodborne.
Bloodborne is available now for PS4.
