Summary

• Bloodborne may soon be playable on PC through PS4 emulation software, but the game currently faces performance issues.
• Fans have long awaited a PC port, sequel, or remaster of Bloodborne due to its limited availability and low framerates on PS4.
• Despite the potential for Sony to intervene due to emulation, the project may offer a playable version of Bloodborne on PC.

Although the hype around Shadow of the Erdtree is beginning to fade, fans of From Software Soulslikes can still have something to get excited about in the form of a playable version of Bloodborne for PC. Released between Dark Souls 2 and Dark Souls 3, Bloodborne has infamously never received any sort of port, re-release, or sequel past the original PlayStation 4 version of the game, which still suffers from relatively low framerates and limited availability — and, despite several rumors over the year, no official statement has ever indicated that new Bloodborne content is in the works.

As a result of the game's relative inaccessibility and overall quality, a PC port, remaster, or sequel to Bloodborne has become one of the most common requests among fans of FromSoft's games, and new rumors about a potential port tend to crop up around the time of major gaming reveal shows like Summer Games Fest — although none of these rumors have ever panned out. However, despite the fact that Bloodborne is out of FromSoft's hands and Sony is seemingly reluctant to do anything with the franchise, the game might still be getting a PC port from an unexpected source.

Bloodborne Will Be Playable On PC — But Not From An Official Release

Bloodborne Emulation Is Reaching A Playable State On PC

As shown by fromsoftserve on YouTube, Bloodborne is approaching a playable state on PC, not through an official release, but instead through a piece of PS4 emulation software called ShadPS4. Unfortunately, however, Bloodborne emulation on PC currently suffers from several issues that make the game essentially unplayable, ranging from poor performance and glitchy lighting to nonfunctional cinematics and full-on crashes at various points in the game.

As a result, while the current state of Bloodborne emulation is promising, it's unlikely that the game will actually be playable on PC without a significant amount of time investment from the emulator's developers.

Still, even from the game's first showing at roughly 5 frames per second on PC, another showing from BrutalSam on YouTube only hours later has shown Bloodborne running at around 20 FPS, showing that performance, at least, is rapidly improving and may soon at least match the performance of the original PS4 version. The more pressing issue for the game, though, is general stability - the game reportedly crashes at points like the Hunter's Dream or Mergo's Wet Nurse, so even as performance improves, Bloodborne on PC will likely require some more troubleshooting to become fully playable.

Bloodborne On PC May Come Under Fire From Sony

The PS4 Emulation Project Might Be At Risk From Bloodborne's Official Publisher

One big question mark for many fans, though, is whether Sony will attempt to intervene, mirroring Nintendo's earlier takedown of the popular Switch emulator Yuzu. While the Bloodborne publisher doesn't have quite the same reputation for shutting down unofficial projects, it has still happened in the past. For example, a fan project, Bloodborne Kart, intended to be a parody of the original game that used its characters for a Mario Kart-esque racing game, was forced to "de-brand," changing its name to Nightmare Kart and switching assets after Sony ed the game's creator.

Yuzu was a relatively uncommon case as far as emulators are concerned, as the software was being used to emulate new Switch releases, like Tears of the Kingdom, as opposed to older games, which was one of the factors that painted Yuzu as a larger target.

With Bloodborne on PC starting to gain a large amount of attention, then, it's likely to draw Sony's attention as well, and while emulation is technically legal, the threat posed by something like a cease-and-desist could still be enough to stop the ShadPS4 project in its tracks. However, given Sony's own reluctance to do anything with Bloodborne and the backlash that interfering with the project would inevitably cause, there's a relatively good chance that the emulation can at least reach a reasonably playable state before any action is taken on the part of Sony.

Given Bloodborne's unique place among FromSoftware Soulslikes, its relative popularity, and its somewhat limited performance on its native platform, a PC port, sequel, or remaster has been one of the most highly requested and anticipated releases by fans for many years. And, while the prospect of being able to emulate the game on PC with relative stability is closer to becoming a reality, there's still likely to be a long wait before it's fully playable. Still, the ShadPS4 project and the Bloodborne emulation that comes with it seem like something that's well worth waiting for.

Source: fromsoftserve/YouTube, BrutalSam/YouTube