Sony has been on a roll with the PlayStation 5 in a few areas. Yes, it is true that they haven’t exactly nailed every aspect of the PS5 yet, but they are excelling in a few key spots one of which is their support of PS4 games i.e., getting them to run noticeably better on PS5 if not giving them full-blown superior PS5 versions. Games like Days Gone, God of War, and Ghost of Tsushima all run markedly better on PS5 in terms of frame rates, resolutions, and sometimes even more than that with updated textures, lighting, and other effects. Spider-Man being given the ray tracing treatment is a great example of that. However, one game that has been left out in the dark on all of this is of course Bloodborne. And yet it’s a game that could really benefit from this sort of upgrade. With Sony now being fairly experienced with porting their games over to PC and up-scaling them for PS5 you would think they would be close to if not well past the point of being ready to give Bloodborne that treatment. So, I guess the question at this point is where the hell is that Bloodborne PS5 patch?
Well fortunately I think it’s fair to say that we will probably get one. it’s likely on the way in one form or another. The big question is when we will actually get it and what form it will take. obviously, a blue point style total remaster or remake of Bloodborne really isn’t necessary. they could really just unlock the framerate and I think most Bloodborne players would be happy with that. but as Jim Ryan confirmed in an interview with GQ Magazine earlier this year, Sony is working on more PC ports of their first party games like Days Gone and potentially God of War. With all of the efforts those ports will probably take, it’s at least somewhat likely that the Bloodborne patch is taking a backseat to those endeavors for the time being. Surely there’s nothing wrong with that but it still seems like less of a task to just give the game a PS5 patch unlock the framerate and let It be. So, what’s the hold up?
Well, it’s also fair to assume that FromSoftware is probably working on other things right now perhaps Elden Ring, so releasing a patch for their game from several years ago might not be very high on their priority list at the moment either. And also, let’s not forget the rumors that swirled around the internet last year about the PC port of Bloodborne which would seem to make sense with Jim Ryan’s agenda for PlayStation’s IP at the moment. Perhaps they don’t want to release a patch for Bloodborne right now as a way to avoid distracting from all of the bells and whistles that would come along with a well-done PC port. I would personally be a little puzzled by that perspective, but it’s possible.
If that is how they view the situation then perhaps they’re just waiting to get that PC port out, see how well it does, and then optimize the PS5 version after. In my personal opinion if they’re going to pick and choose which one of these things, they do first they should stick with patching the game for the PS5 first since that’s where PlayStation’s most loyal fanbase is, But Sony may be looking at it from a different direction. if they were to release a big PS5 friendly framerate patch for Bloodborne just a few months away from a PC port that could potentially siphon excitement away from that release and that would mean less money for Sony and the long run. So, if they’re looking at it from that perspective, I guess it could make sense to just wait a while before they do anything to Bloodborne as it currently stands and get it out on PC first.
There’s also the sticky situation of Sony and blue point reportedly still circling each other when it comes to a merger or a purchasing of Bluepoint Games. This is likely a big deal for them and it will take some time to get to the bottom of what exactly the terms of that purchase will be, and I could understand if they were waiting for that to be done so they could give the job of releasing a PS5 patch for Bloodborne to Bluepoint who now is eminently qualified to handle IP that FromSoftware originally made.
And of course, what I consider to be the most logical theory is that Sony is just waiting to put out a PS5 version of Bloodborne and sell it as such. This version would of course have 4K visuals, 60 frames per second, or at least something close to those specs, and it would definitely feel much more like an actual PS5 game as opposed to an optimized PS4 game that just runs better on PS5. The line between what those two things are is getting pretty blurry this generation, but I think Sony may be trying to draw a very clear one between Bloodborne on PS4 and PS5. if there is a Bloodborne 2 coming down the pipes later on in the generation, it would make sense to have a PS5 version of Bloodborne available to everyone as well, as that would make a nice duology collection even later in the generation kind of like what we saw from Quantic Dream with Beyond: Two Souls and Heavy Rain. Many PS4 gamers who didn’t have a PS3 bought that collection and that was how they played those older games. Sony could be eyeing a similar solution to the problem of PS5 owners who sat the last generation out but would still like to experience Bloodborne one and a potential Bloodborne I that truly takes advantage of their new expensive hardware.
Whatever Sony is planning to do with Bloodborne, when it’s all said and done there will likely be a way to play the game on your PS5 that takes advantage of that hardware to some degree. Whether that is through a patch for the PS4 version that just makes it run a little better or a fully-fledged PS5 version that feels like a PS5 game is anybody’s guess at this point, but I would be shocked if we got through the next couple of years and didn’t see one of those two solutions. All PlayStation gamers need to do now is just enjoy Bloodborne the way it is as they wait.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
