Former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden says a Bloodborne sequel faces a difficult rights puzzle involving Sony, FromSoftware and From's parent company, leaving PS5 and PS6 hopes uncertain.
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Layden points to rights, not a simple lack of demand
The clearest new explanation for Bloodborne’s long silence is also the least satisfying one for fans: former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden says bringing it back would require multiple parties to agree on the same plan. Speaking on The Trophy Room podcast, as reported by Eurogamer, GamingBolt and Twisted Voxel, Layden said there are “a lot of involved rights associated with it” and that, with Sony, FromSoftware and FromSoftware’s parent company in the picture, “getting everyone to sign off on the same thing is probably the biggest challenge.”
That does not amount to an announcement, a cancellation, or an official explanation from Sony Interactive Entertainment or FromSoftware. It is a former PlayStation leader describing the business friction around a beloved exclusive. Still, it gives the Bloodborne sequel conversation a firmer shape than the usual annual cycle of fan hope, rumor and disappointment.
The tension is obvious. Bloodborne remains one of PlayStation’s most requested returns, yet it has not received a native Bloodborne PS5 version, a PC release, a remaster, or a sequel since its 2015 PS4 launch. Eurogamer notes that the game is playable on PS5 through backward compatibility, but that is not the same as a current-generation edition built around higher frame rates, faster loading, visual upgrades, or modern platform features. For players waiting on PlayStation Bloodborne news, Layden’s comments suggest the issue may be less about flipping a remaster switch and more about aligning creative control, ownership, production risk and corporate approval.
The rights picture appears wider than PlayStation alone
Bloodborne is often treated in fan discussion as a Sony problem: PlayStation published it, the game launched as a PS4 exclusive, and Sony’s first-party portfolio has leaned heavily on remasters and remakes in recent years. Layden’s framing complicates that. According to the outlets covering his Trophy Room comments, he identified Sony, FromSoftware and FromSoftware’s parent company as parties whose approval would matter.
Eurogamer specifically describes the situation as involving original publisher PlayStation, developer FromSoftware and Kadokawa Corporation, FromSoftware’s parent company. GamingBolt’s write-up introduces a wrinkle by saying Bandai Namco is also involved, while the shared Layden quote cited across reports refers to “From’s parent company.” Based on the quoted language available in the source material, the safest confirmed point is that Layden sees the Bloodborne rights question as multi-party, not solely under one company’s unilateral control.
That distinction matters because different kinds of Bloodborne projects would likely raise different questions. A straight PS5 patch would appear simpler from the outside than a full remake, while a Bloodborne sequel would demand a much larger agreement around authorship, budget, schedule, branding and long-term ownership. Layden was speaking in the context of bringing older games back, and he tied the rights issue to the broader challenge of making something that respects the original and can “recreate the phenomenon.” In other words, the legal and business problem is connected to the creative one. A new Bloodborne has to clear contracts and expectations before it ever reaches combat tuning, enemy design or the first cursed alleyway.
A sequel carries a heavier burden than a remaster
Layden’s comments land hardest on the idea of Bloodborne 2 because a sequel would be judged against a very specific alchemy. Bloodborne’s identity was never only its Gothic skyline or its Lovecraftian escalation. Its rhythm was built around aggression, risk and release: the rally system pulling players forward, firearms interrupting the traditional shield-and-sword Souls cadence, and encounters that pushed hunters to close distance when instinct said to retreat.
That design legacy raises the bar for any follow-up. Layden asked whether a returning project could be respectful of the original while also recreating the phenomenon around it. That is a business concern, but it is also a design concern. A sequel made without the right creative leadership could look like Bloodborne while missing its tempo. A sequel made too cautiously could feel like a museum piece. A sequel made too far from the original’s design grammar could alienate the very audience asking for it.
This is where the former PlayStation executive’s rights explanation intersects with earlier comments from another former PlayStation figure. GamingBolt and Eurogamer both cite Shuhei Yoshida’s prior theory that director Hidetaka Miyazaki may love Bloodborne but be too busy to handle it himself, while also being reluctant for someone else to touch it. Yoshida made clear he did not know the full internal situation and was offering a personal theory. Layden’s newer comments are different: he points to approvals and rights complexity. Together, the two explanations do not cancel each other out. They sketch a project that may need the correct legal agreement, the correct creative authority and the correct production window at the same time.
FromSoftware’s schedule makes the window even narrower
The sources also place Bloodborne’s absence against FromSoftware’s post-2015 run. GamingBolt notes that Bloodborne was followed by Dark Souls 3 in 2016, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice in 2019 and Elden Ring in 2022, with Miyazaki involved in those projects in some form. GamingBolt also states that Miyazaki is currently working on The Duskbloods, described there as a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive.
That history changes the way a potential Bloodborne sequel should be read. FromSoftware has not been idle, and Miyazaki has not been waiting beside an unused PS5 dev kit. The studio’s creative output since Bloodborne has expanded its audience and raised the commercial stakes around anything bearing its name. Elden Ring in particular broadened the studio’s reach, which means a Bloodborne return would arrive in a world where FromSoftware’s brand carries even more pressure than it did during the PS4 era.
For PlayStation, that cuts both ways. The incentive is obvious: a Bloodborne PS5 or eventual PS6 return would have a built-in audience and enormous visibility. But the risk is sharper too. If Sony, FromSoftware and From’s corporate ownership all need to align, the project must be worth the opportunity cost for each side. A patch or remaster might satisfy fans, but a sequel would require FromSoftware to spend creative capital on a world it has left untouched for more than a decade. Layden’s remarks suggest that agreement is the hard part before any public platform plan can exist.
The PS5 question remains unanswered, and PS6 hope is still speculative
For players asking whether they should wait for a Bloodborne PS5 release, the confirmed answer is bleak but clear: no native PS5 version has been announced in the provided source material. Eurogamer states that Bloodborne is still stuck on PS4, while adding that it can be played on PS5 through backward compatibility. Yoshida, quoted by GamingBolt, said Bloodborne has fans around the world and “still doesn’t have a PS5 version,” adding that there is no PC release and that the situation is “a complete mystery.” He also said, as a fan, he hopes it will come out.
There is no confirmed release date, price, upgrade path, performance target, PC requirement list, or PS6 plan in these reports. Any claim that a remaster is imminent would go beyond the cited material. The same applies to predictions that Sony is holding Bloodborne for a future console launch. A PS6 return would make strategic sense to many fans because Bloodborne remains a prestige exclusive, but the sources here do not report a PS6 project.
The practical guidance is simple: if you want to play Bloodborne today on current PlayStation hardware, the supported route cited by Eurogamer is the PS4 version running through PS5 backward compatibility. If you are waiting for 60 frames per second, a native PS5 edition, a PC version, or a sequel, there is no announced product to preorder, wishlist, or plan around. Twisted Voxel mentions that ShadPS4 emulation on PC has reached high-resolution and high-frame-rate milestones, but that is not an official release path from Sony or FromSoftware.
Reports of other attempts show interest, not momentum
The Bloodborne rights discussion also arrives alongside reports of near-misses and adjacent projects. Eurogamer says the closest the series seemingly came to a comeback was through Bluepoint Games, which reportedly pitched a Bloodborne remake before PlayStation shut down the studio, with Eurogamer’s report saying FromSoftware supposedly did not want the project to proceed. Because that is framed as reported and supposed rather than officially announced by the companies involved, it should be treated as a signal of industry interest, not proof that a remake was ever close to release.
There is also movement outside games. Eurogamer reports that a Bloodborne animated feature is in the works with YouTuber JackSepticEye attached as a co-producer, while GamingBolt says an animated film adaptation recently got a writer and director. That kind of adaptation can keep the name alive, but it does not answer the question players are asking when they search for Bloodborne sequel news or Bloodborne PS5 updates. Film and television rights, production timelines and game development approvals can move on different tracks.
That split is the story’s central frustration. Bloodborne is visible enough to sustain adaptation news and constant fan pressure, yet complicated enough that former PlayStation leaders describe its game future in cautious, conditional terms. Layden’s comments do not close the door on a sequel, a remaster, or a remake. They do make clear that the door has several locks, and the people holding the keys may not all be standing in the same room.