The claim comes from an XDA Developers opinion piece. It argues that publishers have abandoned old console games and that enthusiasts now do more for them than the studios do. Release notes, READMEs and press coverage support a narrower claim. These projects add PC features the console originals never had, and their maturity and methods vary widely.
Not every "port" is a decompilation
Decompilation, static recompilation, native porting and emulation are different techniques. The headline treats them as one.
- Hybrid runtimes. Most of the PS4 projects don't rebuild the game from source. Take the Windows fork of Bloodborne's bbport. The game's compiled CPU machine code runs natively on the PC processor, because the PS4 uses an x86-64 CPU. The README adds that the project is not a PC port recompiled from leaked source code or a reverse-engineered C/C++ decompilation. The GPU side is handled by shadPS4's Vulkan core, which translates PS4 graphics work.
- Developers' own description. Yahoo Tech's coverage quotes the bbport authors as saying the game's own x86-64 code runs natively, a small runtime replaces the PS4 system libraries, and a shadPS4-derived renderer translates GPU work to Vulkan.
- The same engine in many games. XDA's own text says God of War III Remastered is a hybrid. A community tracker lists a family of PS4 titles built the same way. They include Bloodborne's Windows fork, Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, MediEvil and Killzone Shadow Fall. Several of these are described as running the game's x86-64 code directly with a shadPS4-derived Vulkan renderer.
- Real recompilation exists too. The same tracker lists Xbox 360 and original Xbox projects that statically translate console code into native Windows programs. Examples are Gears of War 2, 3 and Judgment (through a launcher called COGBox), Lost Odyssey and Forza Motorsport 2. These are closer to the classic idea of a native port.
- P.T. is the outlier. The tracker describes it as a port with game logic rebuilt in C++ and a Vulkan renderer. Its releases page shows it is actively maintained. That fits XDA's claim that P.T. is a different kind of project from the shadPS4-based hybrids.
Takeaway: "Native" here usually means the CPU code runs natively. The graphics are often still translated through shadPS4's renderer. That is a real engineering advance over running a full emulator, but it isn't a clean-room rewrite.
What the PC features look like in practice
The "better than official remasters" argument is strongest on features, so it's worth looking at them one project at a time.
Bloodborne
The Bloodborne work is a chain of forks. The Linux bbport by deadinside28 had its first release on 1 October 2026, and Windows forks followed quickly. The Windows fork's README lists these features:
- Frame-rate options of 30, 60, 90 or uncapped.
- Render resolution selection.
- Upscaling with AMD FSR 3.1 and FSR 4.
- A mouse-look camera hook.
- A launcher.
The same README states the requirements. It needs Windows 10 or 11 on 64-bit hardware and a Vulkan 1.3 GPU. It also needs a CPU with AVX 1.0 and SSE4.2. The game dump must be the decrypted CUSA03173 folder at version 1.09.
A word of caution about forks. The "bbport" name is shared across several repositories, and their states differ. One fork's README says it is a work in progress and not playable on Windows yet, while others describe themselves as playable. XDA mentions DLSS, frame generation and experimental ray tracing in forks. I couldn't verify those against specific Bloodborne repositories, so treat them as claims about particular forks.
Coverage also tempers the enthusiasm. Wccftech noted that the Bloodborne native port had yet to be completed from beginning to end, so later parts of the game could still have unsolved issues. Yahoo Tech said shadPS4 and its emulation are still heavily utilized, and full playthroughs are yet to be verified by the community.
Driveclub
The Driveclub projects give the clearest evidence for the "remaster-like" argument. They also show the roughest edges.
- Driveclub Recomp. It lists output sizes from 720p to 8K, ultrawide support with a field-of-view fix, DLSS and FSR 3.1 upscaling, HDR10 output and a built-in benchmark card. The benchmark records average frame rate and 1% and 0.1% lows. That backs XDA's claim about a benchmarking tool.
- Its published numbers. At 5120x1440 on an RTX 4070 Ti, the README reports the average rising from 48 FPS with DLAA to 80 with DLSS Quality and 104 with Performance. These are the developer's own figures, not independent tests.
- A hard limit. Above about 120 FPS, the game's movement timing breaks and cars can run slower or behave wrongly.
- Known issues. AMD and Intel players still report colour glitches or "device lost" crashes in some cases. The project says it is mostly tested on NVIDIA cards.
- Version lock. Only v1.28 dumps are supported, either CUSA00093 (US) or CUSA00003 (EU).
- A separate project, DCport. It lists FSR 3.1, FSR 4 and FSR 4.1.1 plus DLSS in its Windows releases. One note says its first race after a shader-cache rebuild can stutter more than usual. Its README also says FSR works as anti-aliasing at 1080p, not as a full upscaler. Frame generation was added and then removed because it did not work.
XDA's "4K textures" and "ray tracing" claims for Driveclub did not show up in the documentation I could verify. Its DLSS 4.5 and FSR 4.1 figures also don't match every project's wording.
Forza Horizon 2
This is the weakest fit for the headline. Reporting describes the Azimuth project as an unofficial wrapper for the Xbox One release, not a decompilation. A DSOGaming report dated 13 October 2026 says it supports game version 1.0.0.64 and offers selectable resolutions, 30 or 60 fps modes and graphics presets. A separate Forza Horizon 2 repository targets the Xbox 360 version. It calls itself an experimental project, not a playable port. The "8K textures" claim from XDA is not backed by what I could check.
Where the "better remaster" claim holds and where it doesn't
It holds on:
- Display flexibility. Ultrawide support, high resolutions, HDR10, uncapped or high frame rates and modern upscalers are all absent from the original console releases.
- Convenience compared with emulation. The projects ship launchers and need only your own dump. That replaces hunting for emulator builds and per-game toggles.
- Preservation of delisted or stranded titles. The tracker's entry for P.T., which was delisted, shows why people care.
It doesn't hold on:
- Polish. The release notes are full of crash fixes, driver notices and experimental flags. P.T. 1.0.8 fixes crashes with recording software and with non-Latin folder paths. It also warns that Intel drivers older than 101.2145 crash in Vulkan.
- Support. Official remasters come with QA, patches and a support channel. Fan projects rely on GitHub issues and Discord servers.
- Setup friction. You need your own decrypted dump, a specific game version and a capable Vulkan GPU. For some projects you also need a CPU with AVX. That is far from a store-page install.
- Accessibility. "Better" depends on what you value. A feature list is not a finished product.
Legal and practical caution
The projects say they ship no game files and ask users to supply their own. That describes how they distribute their software. It does not settle whether building or distributing them is legal, and that depends on how each was made and where you live. XDA makes the same point. I haven't seen jurisdiction-specific legal sourcing, so treat this as unresolved rather than as advice.
If you try these projects on a Windows PC, a few practical rules follow from the documentation:
- Check the exact game version and title ID the project requires before you start. Several lock to one dump.
- Confirm your GPU and CPU requirements. Vulkan 1.3 and AVX support appear in the Bloodborne fork's README.
- Read the known issues first. For Driveclub, that means the 120 FPS ceiling and the AMD and Intel crash reports.
- Keep saves backed up. DCport's own disclaimer tells users to do so.
- Download only from the project's own repository, and verify checksums where they're offered. Driveclub Recomp mentions that SmartScreen may warn about the launcher.
- Avoid optional community add-ons you don't understand. P.T.'s notes say its DLSS 5 and frame-generation unlocks are community projects, unsupported by NVIDIA and used at your own risk.
Bottom line
Fan projects are showing that console games can gain PC features that studios haven't bothered to ship. But the evidence points to a messier picture than "better remasters." Many of these projects are hybrids that lean on shadPS4's renderer, some are wrappers, and almost all are works in progress. A few, like P.T., are closer to true native ports. Whether publishers treat that as a wake-up call or a legal headache remains an open question.