Bloodborne Kart fan game will miss its January release as Sony asks developer to remove the branding

Bloodborne
(Image credit: Sony / FromSoftware)

There's some bad news if you were looking forward to playing Bloodborne Kart on its projected January 31 release date.

The fan game's creator, Lilith Walker, has confirmed that the unofficial Bloodborne racer is being pushed back. In a Twitter post, Walker says that she has been contacted by Sony, and will need to "scrub the branding off" the game before release. However, she stresses that the game formerly known as Bloodborne Kart will still come out: "It'll just look slightly different."

On the plus side, Walker isn't particularly bothered by the affair, adding in a follow up tweet that "we were all expecting this to happen so we could be pleasantly surprised if it didn't." She adds that the game now has the opportunity to be made into something more original, and something that those working on it "have full creative control over."

The fan game formerly known as Bloodborne Kart was to be a kart racer - similar to the like of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed - featuring the characters and settings of FromSoftware's revered 2015 action RPG. Characters included the protagonist Hunter themselves, alongside bosses like Father Gascoigne and Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower.

It was something of a spiritual successor to Walker's excellent Bloodborne PSX demake, which transformed the opening hours of Bloodborne into a PlayStation 1-style action game. The initial sections of Yharnam were lovingly recreated in that crunchy, warped low-poly texture style, but players also had options to smooth out the visuals  and framerate for something more readable and up to date.

While it is a bit of a shame that we won't get to play Bloodborne Kart as intended, it's still exciting to know that it'll be turned into its own thing, and I'm curious to see what form the final version of the project will now take.

If you've got the need for speed, be sure to check out our list of the best racing game alongside our guide to the best PS5 racing wheels for top recommendations on sim racing hardware.

Rhys Wood
Hardware Editor

Rhys is TRG's Hardware Editor, and has been part of the TechRadar team for more than two years. Particularly passionate about high-quality third-party controllers and headsets, as well as the latest and greatest in fight sticks and VR, Rhys strives to provide easy-to-read, informative coverage on gaming hardware of all kinds. As for the games themselves, Rhys is especially keen on fighting and racing games, as well as soulslikes and RPGs.

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