So I have a problem. I decided that now, few years since I last played the game, it might be a good time to start another Bloodborne run. Only to be greeted by "Unable to locate Bloodborne: The Old Hunters DLC. This save data cannot be used until the DLC is downloaded again." Problem is, there's no way to download the DLC for my GOTY version.
So here's the history of how I played/bought this game in the past:
- Disc version at launch, played through once, sold it
- Early 2016 I bought the GOTY digital version. Checked the receipts, it's definitely on the account I'm trying to play now.
- Sometime in 2018 Bloodborne base game was PS+ freebie so I grabbed it along with other games because sure why not, what harm could it do.
So now I have two different Bloodborne games that look identical in the UI. Same name ("Bloodborne"), same game icon, just slightly different size (36.51GB vs. 32.97GB). The former is the GOTY version for which I have save files that say that I need to install the Old Hunters DLC. The latter is the PS+ version, no compatible saves in that one at all. The problem is that there's no way to actually install the Old Hunters DLC. Can't download it from PS Store, nothing in my library and it's my primary PS4 for the account. I've tried restoring licenses, re-downloading both versions, downloading directly via the store, having only one or the other installed but always the same issue. If I go to the Old Hunters page in the store, it says "You are not able to purchase this product for the following reason(s): You already own: -Bloodborne(tm)
Is the issue that somehow the PS+ freebie overrode my GOTY version license? Any ideas, tips? Contact Sony and have them not solve the issue because it's a weird situation they don't know could even happen?
In the worst case I might be willing to give up my save and start fresh but even then I don't have the Old Hunters DLC activated so that's not an option.
edit: I decided to contact Playstation support and to my surprise they replied quickly AND solved the issue. The PS+ version was removed from my account, I re-downloaded/re-activated licenses and now the GOTY version works fine. I'm actually stunned that the support could resolve the issue and so efficiently too. On the other hand it shouldn't be an issue in the first place, their license validation system has some flaws.