A Year of Silence Broken by Duskbloods Network Test

Twelve months. That's how long FromSoftware went without saying a single word about The Duskbloods after its initial reveal. No screenshots, no developer blogs, no teaser clips on social media. The only confirmation the game hadn't been quietly shelved came from Kadokawa, FromSoftware's parent company, reassuring investors it was still on track for 2026. Yesterday's Nintendo Direct finally broke that silence, though not with a release date. Instead, FromSoftware announced a closed network test coming this summer.

A year-long communications blackout is unusual even by FromSoftware standards. This is a studio that kept Elden Ring in the public conversation for years with carefully timed trailers and gameplay previews. With The Duskbloods, the approach has been the opposite: reveal it exists, then vanish. Whether that's deliberate mystique or a sign that the game simply wasn't ready to show, I don't know. But we're getting a playable network test this summer rather than just another cinematic trailer suggests the game is further along than the radio silence implied.

What We Actually Know

The Duskbloods is a PvPvE multiplayer action game where up to eight players take on the role of Bloodsworn, characters with unique weapons, abilities, and blood-based powers that transform combat styles. The goal is to secure something called the First Blood, and the twist is that you don't have to fight every player you encounter. You can mark other Bloodsworn as companions and cooperate, or mark them as rivals and go after them directly. It's FromSoftware's second multiplayer-focused project after Elden Ring Nightreign, and it remains a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive.

The new trailer shown during the Direct was brief and light on actual gameplay. It hinted at new playable Bloodsworn and showed off more of the game's architecture and world design, which looks characteristically strong for FromSoftware. But we still don't have concrete details on how matches play out, what the PvE threats look like, or how the companion and rival systems work in practice. A network test should answer most of those questions, and I'm more interested in getting hands-on time than watching another 40-second trailer.

No specific dates or sign-up details for the closed network test have been shared yet. The game itself is still listed for a 2026 release on Switch 2, and a summer network test would be consistent with a late-year launch window. FromSoftware going from complete silence to a playable test within a few months is a sharp pivot, and it makes me think the next few weeks are going to be busy for this game. After a year of nothing, players deserve more than breadcrumbs, and a network test is at least a full meal.