Sony has halted development of the fan project Bloodborne Top Down Arena.

Sony Halts Development of Fan-Made Project Bloodborne Top Down Arena

Indie developer Maxim Foulquier has announced that Sony forced him to stop work on the unofficial project Bloodborne Top Down Arena. According to the creator, he received an official letter demanding the cessation of development due to intellectual property rights infringement back in March 2025, but decided to publicly disclose this information only now.

The reason for revealing this information was the recent closure of Bluepoint Games. This event saddened the gaming community and dashed players' hopes for a speedy release of an official remake of the action game Bloodborne.

Bloodborne Top Down Arena was announced in the fall of 2024. The project was conceived as an isometric survival game that would combine the gameplay formula of Vampire Survivors with the dark aesthetic of the Bloodborne universe. In the game, users were supposed to fight endless waves of enemies in an arena, gain experience, and choose new abilities upon leveling up—for example, increasing health and stamina or applying fire buffs to weapons.

Maxim Foulquier planned to gradually expand the content: adding new types of enemies and bosses, with funding to be conducted through the Patreon platform. The developer hoped that the change in genre and the project's unique perspectives would help avoid the attention of the corporation's lawyers. However, the similarity in the name alone was enough for legal intervention.

The law firm representing Sony's interests pointed to the company's indisputable rights to the Bloodborne trademark in many countries worldwide. As a result, the developer was forced to cease work on the project.

Foulquier admitted to experiencing immense disappointment due to the corporation's actions but decided not to discard the fruits of his labor. All created 3D models, animations, and environmental assets will be reworked and used in his new original game. The future project will retain the atmosphere of Victorian gothic horror but will unfold in an independent universe—this will help avoid further copyright issues.

This is not the first time Sony has shut down fan initiatives related to the Bloodborne franchise. Previously, the company forced the creators of the racing arcade game Bloodborne Kart to change its name before release—the game was renamed Nightmare Kart.