Earlier this week, reports surfaced that Bluepoint had pitched a Bloodborne remake in early 2025, but FromSoftware shut it down.
That may come as a surprise considering the critical acclaim of the Demon’s Souls remake, which Hidetaka Miyazaki even credited with adding “extra pressure” to the Elden Ring graphics team — inspiring them to push the visuals further — but according to leaker NateTheHate, there has been “industry chatter” about FromSoft disliking the game “for years.”
“It has long been believed that FromSoft/Miyazaki were not happy with the Demon’s Souls PS5 remake,” NateTheHate posted on ResetEra. “It’s been industry chatter for some time.”
Demon’s Souls Has A Lot Of Baggage
Whether this is just gossip, or if the chatter has a kernel of truth to it, is up for debate. YouTuber Maximilian Dood claimed on X, “Miyazaki did not hate the Demon’s Souls remake, nor was it likely the breaking point on doing a remaster,” but it’s easy to see why FromSoftware wouldn’t be fond of Bluepoint’s work.
Fans have long criticized the remake for butchering the original game’s art style, taking unique spins on fantasy tropes like mindflayers and replacing them with generic, Western interpretations, while also entrenching Boletaria in an atmosphere more befitting Bloodborne.
There’s also the history behind the original Demon’s Souls to consider. Sony was not convinced by FromSoftware’s more grueling spin on the action RPG genre, and outright refused to publish it in the West — thankfully, Bandai Namco and Atlus stepped in for the Europe and US release. Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida explained last year that work had already begun on a sequel, but FromSoft was “so disappointed” with how it was treated by Sony that it chose to work with Bandai on a spiritual successor instead, leading to the immensely popular Dark Souls trilogy.
Of course, FromSoftware and Sony repaired that relationship, as the two began collaborating on Bloodborne shortly after the first Dark Souls launched, but there’s a lot of baggage to Demon’s Souls. And while Miyazaki gave his blessing to the remake, FromSoft “didn’t get involved in the actual day-to-day production,” so it’s entirely possible that the team shares the same grievances as fans.
But it’s also worth pointing out that Miyazaki considers Bloodborne to be “the strongest reflection” of his Soulslike “flavoring,” so it could be as simple as him wanting to have a more hands-on role with anything involving the game, such as a remake, rather than being disappointed with how Demon’s Souls was handled.
At the end of the day, this is all just industry gossip and rumor, so it’s worth taking it with a heavy hand of salt. Miyazaki could be a fan of the remake, and may appreciate how much attention it brought to the PS3 cult classic that started it all, or he could be upset at just how much Bluepoint sanitized the original art style, much as fans are.
We simply don’t know, and it’s unlikely that Miyazaki would ever come out and say that the remake was a load of drivel, especially with the studio closing.
- Released
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November 12, 2020
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Violence
- Developer(s)
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Bluepoint Games
- Engine
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Proprietary Engine
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer
