FromSoftware has begun distributing download codes for The Duskbloods network test, which opens on August 21 and runs intermittently until August 24 exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2, Video Games Chronicle reported.
Players selected to take part can now return to the Account page on The Duskbloods Network Test website to view their Nintendo Switch 2 download code and install the game client before the first session begins. Applications for the test opened in late July, and successful applicants were notified on August 7.
When the test is playable
The test does not run continuously across the four days. Instead, servers come online for five fixed windows, listed by FromSoftware in BST:
- August 21, 11am to 3pm BST
- August 22, 3am to 7am BST
- August 22, 7pm to 11pm BST
- August 23, 11am to 3pm BST
- August 24, 3am to 7am BST
Outside those windows the client is installed but unplayable, so participants who miss a session have to wait for the next one.
Still no release date
The Duskbloods does not have a confirmed release date. FromSoftware said earlier this year that the game would arrive in 2026, and it remains a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive.
The game is online-only multiplayer, a departure from the studio's usual output that drew questions when it was announced. Game director Hidetaka Miyazaki addressed those concerns in April 2025, saying the project did not signal a change of direction for FromSoftware as a whole.
As previously mentioned, this is an online multiplayer title at its core, but this doesn't mean that we as a company have decided to shift to a more multiplayer-focused direction with titles going forward.
Miyazaki pointed to the studio's other Switch 2 work as evidence, adding that single-player development continues alongside The Duskbloods.
The Nintendo Switch 2 version of Elden Ring was also announced, and we still intend to actively develop single-player-focused games such as this that embrace our more traditional style.
