Bloodborne now runs on PC without CPU emulation for the first time. The fan port bbport takes the original code of the PS4 version and executes it directly on the computer's processor, while translating the graphics to Vulkan. There are two catches: it only works on Linux and the Steam Deck, and you have to dump the game from your own PS4. In 11 years, Sony and FromSoftware have never released an official PC version.
How it works
The PS4's processor uses the same x86-64 architecture as an ordinary PC, and the port's author took advantage of that. The game's code is not emulated but executed as is, while a custom layer written specifically for Bloodborne stands in for the PS4's system libraries. The author compares the project to Wine and DXVK, only for a single game. The graphics core comes from the shadPS4 emulator and has been reworked: it carries about two hundred marked changes plus new modules, from motion vectors to upscalers.
The big breakthrough is multithreading. At first, a single thread processed the entire PS4 GPU command stream, and the game topped out at around 26 fps. Now decoding and recording run on separate threads, and according to the author the game runs at 90 to 150 fps depending on resolution and scene.
What the port adds over the PS4
- Frame rate. 30, 60 and 90 fps modes instead of the PS4's eternal 30.
- Upscalers. FSR 3.1, FSR 4 and FSR 4.1.1 using the game's real motion vectors. FSR 4 also runs on Radeon RX 6000 and 7000 cards if they support the required instructions.
- The author's numbers. On a Radeon RX 7800 XT, about 90 fps at 4K with FSR 4 Balanced and about 150 fps at 1440p with FSR 4 Quality. That is one machine, with no independent tests yet.
- Image quality. 16x anisotropic filtering instead of 1x on most textures, and anti-aliasing under which thin railings and bars flicker noticeably less.
- Steam Deck. A ready-made AppImage, 720p output, gamepad and keyboard.
The project is moving at breakneck speed. Version 0.1 appeared on GitHub on October 1, and 0.4 was already out on October 7, collecting more than 1,500 stars in a week. In the latest version the FSR 4.1.1 upscaler is built from a single DLL at the press of a button, and on RX 9000 cards it runs in FP8 mode.
The catches you should know about
- Linux only. There is no Windows version. Windows users still have the shadPS4 emulator, which also runs the fan-made BB PC Remaster.
- Your own copy of the game. No game files are included. You need a decrypted dump of Bloodborne version 1.09 from your own PS4, which can only be made on a jailbroken console. The base 1.00 version crashes at start.
- Experimental stage. The author is upfront: the game boots, loads saves and plays, but a full playthrough has not been verified, and testing was done on one machine with a Radeon RX 7800 XT.
- The new memory mode. It speeds the game up by 20 to 25 percent where it is CPU-bound, but only works on AMD graphics cards and may crash. It is off by default.
In other words, this is not yet "Bloodborne on PC" for everyone, but it is very convincing proof that such a port is possible. An official PC port never appeared in 11 years, and enthusiasts put together a working native version in a week.
Sources
How the port works, features, requirements, status and the author's measurements: the README and release notes for versions 0.1-0.4 of deadinside28/bloodborne_pc on GitHub, GPL-2.0 license, October 1-7, 2026. First reports of the release: iXBT Games, October 4, 2026, Wccftech and DSOGaming.
Images: Bloodborne, the same frames as in our BB PC Remaster piece.
