Selected players can now claim The Duskbloods closed network test download codes. Here is who gets access, what to check, the reported 3.8GB size, and the schedule conflict to watch.
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Selected players can now claim The Duskbloods network test client
Download codes for The Duskbloods closed network test are now being issued to selected participants, turning FromSoftware’s Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive from a watched-from-afar reveal into something a limited slice of the public can actually install.
VGC reports that players chosen for The Duskbloods Network Test can now revisit the Account page on the official test website to view their Nintendo Switch 2 download code and download the test client. A separate GameLoop source note says Nintendo Switch 2 players who registered and were confirmed can claim their code now, while My Nintendo News reports that the closed network test app becomes available as an eShop redemption after the code is claimed from the official The Duskbloods website.
That access is limited. The codes are not being broadly distributed through the Nintendo eShop, and the available source material points to one group: players who applied during the late-July registration period and were later confirmed as successful applicants. VGC says successful applicants were notified on August 7, and Indy100 reported that players could check their result by signing into the official network test site with the same Nintendo account details used during registration. According to Indy100, successful applicants would see a message saying, “you were selected to participate.”
Who should check for a code, and where to look
If you applied for The Duskbloods closed network test, the first stop should be the official network test Account page, not the standard Nintendo storefront search bar. VGC specifically says successful applicants can revisit the Account page on The Duskbloods Network Test website to view their Nintendo Switch 2 download code. Nintendo’s own support page for The Duskbloods Network Test also directs players to the official website for information about the test and participation.
Indy100 reported ahead of code distribution that software and download codes were scheduled to begin going out from August 18 at 2pm BST, which corresponds to 9am ET and 6am PT. Twisted Voxel similarly reported that selected players were told game data and download codes would begin distribution on August 18 at 6am PDT, with participants instructed to return to the website after that time.
The practical reading is simple: if you were selected on August 7, use the same Nintendo account details tied to the application, open the official test portal, and check the account area for your redemption code. If you were not selected, the current source material does not indicate a second wave of invites or a public download option.
The reported download size is small, but do not wait until the first session
My Nintendo News reports that The Duskbloods Closed Network Test app is a 3.8GB download once the code is redeemed. That is the only supplied source giving a concrete file size, so players should treat The Duskbloods download size as a reported figure rather than a number independently listed in Nintendo’s support article.
Even at 3.8GB, the smarter move is to redeem the code and download the client before the servers open. The test is built around narrow four-hour windows, and losing the first half hour to account sign-in, storage management, or a slow connection would be a rough way to enter a FromSoftware combat system that is likely to ask for full attention from the first encounter.
Twisted Voxel reports that selected Nintendo Switch 2 players will need an active Nintendo Switch Online membership to participate, and that the test uses a limited build with no progress carrying over to the full game. That membership requirement is not listed in the supplied Nintendo support excerpt, so players should verify their subscription status before the first test window rather than assume a downloaded client is enough. Storage space, controller charge, system updates, and eShop code redemption should all be handled before the opening session.
The schedule is narrow, and the date listings do not fully agree
The confirmed test windows are best understood by time zone. VGC lists five sessions in BST: August 21 from 11am to 3pm, August 22 from 3am to 7am, August 22 from 7pm to 11pm, August 23 from 11am to 3pm, and August 24 from 3am to 7am. Twisted Voxel lists the same sequence in PDT as August 21 from 3am to 7am, August 21 from 7pm to 11pm, August 22 from 11am to 3pm, August 23 from 3am to 7am, and August 23 from 7pm to 11pm.
Those two schedules align once the time-zone shift is applied. The final session lands on August 24 in BST but August 23 in PDT. That explains why some readers will see the test described as running until August 24, while others will see the final playable slot dated August 23.
There is one source conflict worth flagging. Indy100 says the network test runs from August 21 to August 25 and lists five four-hour windows, but its final date conversion appears inconsistent with the VGC and Twisted Voxel schedules. Because Nintendo’s support page in the supplied material points players back to the official website rather than printing the windows, selected participants should rely on the schedule shown in their official account page and remember Twisted Voxel’s report that FromSoftware noted session dates and times may be changed or cancelled without prior notice.
This is FromSoftware’s first public technical read on an online-only Switch 2 exclusive
The test has weight because The Duskbloods is not being presented as a traditional offline FromSoftware campaign. VGC describes it as an online-only multiplayer game, while Indy100 calls it an eight-player PvPvE Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive from the studio behind Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring. Twisted Voxel similarly reports that the test will involve eight-player online matches in a limited build.
Indy100 quotes the official network test description as saying it uses a pre-release version of the game “to test performance prior to the commencement of service,” with plans for “large-scale network load tests” to check technical aspects of the game’s online systems. That language is important. This is not being framed as a demo designed to sell players on a polished slice. It is a stress test for matchmaking, stability, online flow, and the balance pressures that come when FromSoftware’s weighty action timing meets PvPvE unpredictability.
For FromSoftware fans, that makes the first network test a sharper signal than a trailer. Trailers can sell posture, gothic silhouettes, weapon trails, and arena mood. A network test exposes rhythm. It shows whether target switching, pursuit, retreat, enemy pressure, and player-versus-player interruptions can coexist without turning the action into noise. If The Duskbloods is built around eight players competing alongside hostile threats, its combat needs to read cleanly under pressure, especially on a new Nintendo platform where the audience will be watching performance, input response, and online reliability closely.
The bigger question is how The Duskbloods fits beside FromSoftware’s single-player legacy
The Duskbloods Switch 2 exclusivity already makes the project unusual. It ties one of modern action RPG design’s most watched studios to Nintendo’s new hardware at a time when FromSoftware’s fanbase is still heavily associated with solitary exploration, oppressive level design, and boss fights studied like stage combat. VGC reports that The Duskbloods does not yet have a confirmed release date, but FromSoftware has confirmed a 2026 release window.
The multiplayer focus has also been addressed directly by Hidetaka Miyazaki. VGC cites Miyazaki saying in April that The Duskbloods is “an online multiplayer title at its core,” while adding that this does not mean FromSoftware has “decided to shift to a more multiplayer-focused direction with titles going forward.” In the same quoted remarks, Miyazaki pointed to Elden Ring on Nintendo Switch 2 and said the studio still intends to develop single-player-focused games that embrace its traditional style.
That context should temper both anxiety and expectation. The closed network test will not answer every design question, and progress reportedly will not carry over. It can, however, reveal whether FromSoftware’s command of combat tempo survives the move into a session-based online frame. For selected players, the assignment is straightforward: claim the code, install the client early, check the official schedule, confirm the account and membership requirements, and enter the test with the patience owed to a pre-release build. For everyone else, the first wave of impressions will likely be the clearest look yet at whether The Duskbloods can turn FromSoftware’s familiar tension into something that works when seven other players are sharing the same hunt.