If you’ve just gotten back into gaming, you might have noticed that several PS4 and PS5 games are now available on Steam and the Epic Games Store. This is part of Sony’s ongoing initiative to port over a handful of its most popular exclusives to a wider audience. Most recently, The Last of Us Part 1 became available on the PC, which could’ve been handled better. Even though such games are already moving onto the PC platform, fans shouldn’t expect Bloodborne anytime soon.
According to an interview by Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO, Jim Ryan, with Famitsu (later translated through Google on ResetEra), PlayStation’s “main responsibility is to have people enjoy the game experience using the latest PlayStation. We are increasing the number of PS5-exclusive titles and staggering the release of the PC versions.”
Later on in the same interview, Ryan added fan feedback has led the company to believe that a 2-3-year gap between the release of the PS5 versions and the PC ports is ideal.
This implies fans can expect to see PS4 or PS5 games hit the PC around three years after coming out, which makes sense. Returnal came out on the PS5 in mid-2021 and became available on the PC only earlier this year. This explains why Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is coming next and why Ghost of Tsushima might come later.
Unfortunately, this isn’t good news for Bloodborne fans.
It’s been over five years since Bloodborne came out, missing Ryan’s window. The 2-3-year gap isn’t a hard-set rule, but the tech giant has followed it so far. It’s best not to get your hopes for a Bloodborne PC port up.
Ultimately, Sony’s strategy makes sense. When a new game is out, the primary goal is to sell Sony hardware. Launching it on the PC at the same time could undermine this objective. Then, if it’s released two years later, it will have sold as much as it can on the PS4 and the PS5 with most if not all post-launch content already out. Sony stands to benefit the most in this case. Thus, it’s a win-win situation for the console manufacturer.
It isn’t all bad news for Bloodborne fans. Lance McDonald posted evidence of a PC version of Bloodborne: The Old Hunters Edition online.
The only problem? FromSoftware created this specifically for internal or debug purposes.
Similar to the PS4 version of the PS5 launch title, Demon’s Souls, FromSoftware had a working PC version of Bloodborne: The Old Hunters Edition but it never meant for it to see the light of the day.
So, technically, McDonald wasn’t lying that a PC port of Bloodborne exists when he said this before. The only problem is that it wasn’t for public consumption, so to speak.
While Sony has become more open to porting its games to PCs, it’s clear that its priority still lies with the PlayStation.
As for the PC port of Bloodborne, it seems like the only way it can happen now is if a PS5 upgrade or remake is released first.
Given how busy FromSoftware is with Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree and Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, it’ll be at least a couple of years before this happens, and that’s a big if.
