Bloodborne Gets Local Co-op on a Single PC — Fans Launch Split-Screen via shadPS4

Bloodborne now has an unofficial local co-op mode on a single computer. An enthusiast going by the handle ReachForJuggernog98_ showed how to run the game in split-screen through the shadPS4 emulator, launching several instances of Bloodborne at once and connecting them to each other through fan-made networking infrastructure.

On Windows, this uses Nucleus Co-op. The system automatically launches two copies of the game, splits controls between the players and arranges the windows on one or several screens. According to the author, the local server starts on its own, clients connect automatically, and some of the required patches and performance settings are applied without manual intervention.

The idea doesn’t rely on a built-in split-screen mode, which Bloodborne never had. In effect, two full copies of the game run inside the emulator on one PC at the same time, so the load on the CPU, GPU and memory is noticeably higher than in a regular session. That is the main limitation of this kind of co-op right now.

The networking side is handled by the fan-made shadNet

The solution is built on a separate fork of shadPS4 and the related shadNet / shadp2p infrastructure. The project restores Bloodborne’s networking features without PlayStation Network and lets players connect to each other through a fan server. It supports both the standard co-op system with the Beckoning Bell and Small Resonant Bell and an experimental seamless mode with fewer of the original restrictions.

On Linux, a similar setup was already demonstrated through PartyDeck. That version came earlier: the author wrote a special handler for shadPS4 that lets several emulator instances run in parallel and connect to a single server. In one demo, two players fought the Blood-Starved Beast together, with performance holding at around 30 FPS.

For the current build, Bloodborne CUSA03173 with patch 1.09 is recommended. The developers stress that the projects themselves do not distribute game files or PS4 system software — users need their own dump.

Usuário 'ReachForJuggernog98_' no Reddit conseguiu jogar Bloodborn multiplayer cooperativo local, usando o emulador de PS4 shadPS4.

É utilizado o ShadPS4 Handler, porém o processo é um tanto quanto complicado, mas o responsável fez um guia para quem quiser tentar. pic.twitter.com/v3d3dZrunm

— Senhor Linguica Pro (@SrLinguicaVIVE) September 19, 2026

Technically, more than two players are possible

Although public demos so far mostly involve two players, split-screen doesn’t technically have to be limited to a pair. According to the handler’s author, the architecture can run more instances if the computer can handle it and if Bloodborne’s own limitations don’t get in the way. On Linux, he also showed a setup where local players and users connecting over the network can be in the same session.

For Bloodborne fans, this is a fairly notable step. shadPS4 is still an emulator in the early stages of development, but the game has long been one of the main showcases of its progress: first came launching and playability, then graphics and performance mods, later the restoration of online play, and now couch co-op on a single PC, which didn’t exist even in the original PlayStation 4 version.

Sony still hasn’t released an official PC version of Bloodborne, so all solutions like this remain purely a community effort.