The Duskbloods might be a Nintendo Switch 2-exclusive game, but one FromSoftware lead says that more fans signed up for its closed network test than they did for the multi-platform Elden Ring Nightreign.
Between Elden Ring Nightreign's release last year and The Duskbloods coming this year, FromSoftware is truly in its multiplayer era right now. It's not that the studio is changing its trajectory to ditch single-player games, mind you, as boss Hidetaka Miyazaki says, "both of those ideas just coincided with being multiplayer games. It's not necessarily some big reveal saying that this is the direction we plan to go moving forward."
Perhaps, though, the success of last year's co-op, roguelike-flavored souls game left more folks excited to see what the studio was cooking up with The Duskbloods. In a livestream hosted by Famitsu (translated by GamesRadar+), FromSoftware producer Yasuhiro Kitao reveals that the number of applications for the Switch 2 game's closed network test exceeded that for Nightreign's. "We were really surprised," he notes.
It is surprising, given that the Switch 2 is a single platform – and one that only just launched last year – it's bound to have a smaller installed base than the combined force of PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One, as Nightreign has. Kitao acknowledges this, saying that FromSoftware questions if there really will be more Duskbloods players come launch, and noting that it'll probably be Nightreign that comes out on top.
Even so, it's a positive early sign for The Duskbloods. After all, multiplayer-focused games live and die by how many players they have – their popularity is usually what makes the difference between something being supported for years to come, or being quietly shelved.
The Duskbloods still doesn't have a release date beyond the vague promise that it'll be out sometime this year – hopefully, FromSoftware will have more news for us soon.
