How the Bloodborne community filled the void with fan-made content

Bloodborne has built a deep and committed fanbase since it was released exclusively on PlayStation 4 in 2015. Despite a decade passing since, the action role playing game has remained the subject of intense speculation of what its next iteration will be.  

Fuelling this speculation is hope that developers From Software and publishers Sony Interactive Entertainment will answer fan calls by taking one or all of the following steps:

1. Release Bloodborne on PC
2. Remaster Bloodborne with upgraded visuals and performance
3. Remake Bloodborne: recreate the game from the ground up
4. Release a Bloodborne sequel

It is the absence of these four steps over a prolonged period which have prompted fans to act. To fill the void, fans have developed new Bloodborne experiences that have injected fresh life into the IP – albeit unofficially and in breach of copyright terms. These include:

Fan-made modes: Bloodborne has remained regular fixture on live streaming platforms like Twitch because of the challenge runs created by fans. These are ways of playing the game that make the notoriously challenging title even more difficult. They range from no-hit runs, speed runs, randomised bosses, to item-only or permadeath challenges (where a player must start from the beginning if they die). These challenges are largely taken on by proxy creators who broadcast their gameplay to fans who would not have the skill to complete these challenges.  

Emulators: Bloodborne is a PlayStation-only title. However, a group of fans are working on The ShadPS4 emulator that could enable an unauthorised version of the title to be played on PC[1]. Separately, the Twitch creator Lance McDonald enabled fans to play the game with a better 1080p resolution at a rate of 60 frames per second through a modified patch. While it required niche hardware and only a small number of fans were able to access it, the mod was later hit with a copyright strike by a third-party company linked to Sony[2].   

Spin-off games: Fans Walther and Corwyn Prichard took heavy inspiration from Bloodborne when they created Nightmare Kart. This racing game with Mario Kart influences began as an April Fool’s joke before becoming a fully-fledged fan project. It was initially named Bloodborne Kart but was forced to rebrand after Sony challenged the developers in January 2024 over their unauthorised IP use.

Retro reimaginations: Alongside efforts to upscale Bloodborne, fans are also descaling the title to give it a retro feel. The developers of Nightmare Kart have also created Bloodborne PSX, a de-make that refashions the game in the low polygon art style of a PlayStation 1 game.  

Entertainment IP holders can predict how likely their IP will be subjected to fan-made creations by cross-analysing the passion / skill of their fanbase against the time since their last title was released. The highest likelihood of fan-made content in gaming is when a passionate and skilled fanbase is left waiting for many years without teasers or announcements of a new title in the franchise. Gaming IP holders also have a higher likelihood of being subjected to fan-made content because of the well-established “modding” community among PC gamers.

Modders range from hobbyists to fully-fledged gaming developers who reverse-engineer a game’s assets to enhance, customise or transform the gaming experience. Some developers have fully embraced the modding community such as Bethesda Game Studios, the developers behind franchises Fallout and The Elder Scroll series. Rather than issuing copyright strikes and take downs they issue official modding tools to enable creation. A parallel behaviour to game modding can be found in music via the remixing, sampling, and DJ communities.

Long development cycles mean gaming IP holders are more open to fan-made creations that compete for time-spent. This is not problematic unless the fan-made creations prevent the IP holder from pursuing a monetisation opportunity. For example, Bloodborne’s ability to monetise a remaster would be threatened by mods that enable the game to be played in 4K at 120 fps on current generation hardware.

While there is no one-size-fits-all answer, gaming IP developers can get a better handle on the situation by creating more fan touch points between title launches. This can range from more hands-on interventions, such as creating more downloadable expansions (DLCs) and staggering them over a longer period. Alternatively, IP holders can lean into fan-made creation by giving fans the tool kit. This is becoming a more common behaviour thanks to the Fortnite Creative Mode and the Unreal Engine Marketplace. Developer CD Projekt Red has taken released the REDkit toolbox that enabled modders to create new quests and environments within The Witcher 2 and 3.

Rather than waiting for fans to create content that could prevent monetisation, developers are better off shaping the direction via dedicated sandboxes. More positive intervention provides more opportunity to positively influence – or, better still, more opportunity to monetise fan creations by selling access to creator tools. However, this approach must be done sensitively, as Bethesda’s efforts to monetise the mod community in the past were met with resistance.

Roles

This report is relevant to the following roles:

Business Strategy