Every year, fans of Bloodborne eagerly anticipate a new release from FromSoftware's Lovecraftian masterpiece. Yet year after year, we've seen neither Bloodborne 2 nor even a HD remaster. What lies behind this silence? Former PlayStation President Shawn Layden suggests the core issue is complex copyright ownership.
In an interview on The Trophy Room podcast, when asked why there has been no sequel or remake in the ten years since Bloodborne's release, Layden explained that reviving any classic hit is far from easy.
"Reviving old games itself presents many challenges," he said. "You must live up to the original's reputation while also figuring out how to recapture its past phenomenal popularity, which is no easy task."
However, Bloodborne's situation is even more unique. The game's copyrights are shared among multiple parties: the original publisher PlayStation, developer FromSoftware, and the studio's parent company, Kadokawa Corporation.
Layden stated, "This game involves numerous stakeholders holding rights—Sony, FromSoftware, and FromSoftware's parent company. I believe the biggest challenge is getting all parties to agree and give the green light."
Layden, who led the PlayStation brand during its PS4 golden age, described collaborating with FromSoftware on Bloodborne and the original Demon's Souls as "very pleasant."
Despite players' unceasing calls for a revival and steady sales over the decade since its release, Bloodborne remains available only on PS4—though it can be played on PS5 via backward compatibility. The closest we came to a Bloodborne reboot was through Bluepoint Games. Reportedly, before PlayStation shut down this highly acclaimed studio, Bluepoint had submitted a remake proposal, but FromSoftware seemed opposed to moving forward with the project.
Another former PlayStation executive, Shuhei Yoshida, also speculated that the delay in a Bloodborne remake stems from game director and Souls-like pioneer Hidetaka Miyazaki's desire to handle it personally: "Mr. Miyazaki loves Bloodborne deeply and cherishes the world he created... He surely has ideas for a remake, but now that he's achieved great success, his schedule is extremely full, leaving him no time to work on it himself, yet he's unwilling to let others touch this title."
Additionally, an animated film adaptation of Bloodborne is in development, with popular YouTuber JackSepticEye serving as co-producer.