FromSoftware producer Yasuhiro Kitao says The Duskbloods network test received more applicants than Elden Ring Nightreign, a surprising signal for a Switch 2 exclusive with a multiplayer focus.
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A Switch 2 exclusive just outpaced a bigger FromSoftware test
The Duskbloods network test drew more applicants than the closed test for Elden Ring: Nightreign, according to FromSoftware producer Yasuhiro Kitao, as translated by Nintendo Everything from a recent Famitsu livestream. That is the concrete development at the center of this story, and it lands with some real tension: The Duskbloods is a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive on new hardware, while Nightreign carried the Elden Ring name and tested on established current-generation consoles.
Kitao said FromSoftware was “very surprised” that The Duskbloods applicants exceeded those for Elden Ring: Nightreign. His explanation, as translated by Nintendo Everything, was that Switch 2 is still new and has a smaller potential audience than longer-established platforms, but that some players may have skipped the Nightreign playtest because of its multiplayer premise, then tried the game after launch and enjoyed it. In his view, that may have encouraged more people to apply for The Duskbloods multiplayer test this time.
That distinction matters: the best-supported claim here is about applicants, not confirmed final concurrent players or total participants. Nintendo Everything and My Nintendo News frame the news around the number of applicants. Shacknews describes the test as having “more players,” but the quoted Kitao translation supplied by Nintendo Everything specifically says “applicants.” Until FromSoftware or Nintendo publishes exact numbers, the safest reading is that demand to enter the test was higher, not that we know how many actually got in, logged on, or completed matches.
The Elden Ring Nightreign comparison cuts against the obvious math
On paper, Elden Ring: Nightreign should have had the cleaner route to a larger test pool. Shacknews reports that Nightreign’s closed network test was available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, while The Duskbloods test was tied to Nintendo Switch 2. Gameranx, citing Nintendo’s investor relations figures, added that Switch 2 had reached 23.69 million units since June, while it characterized the combined PS5 and Xbox Series console base available to Nightreign as far larger.
There is another filter in the comparison. Gameranx reported that The Duskbloods network test signups required active Switch Online accounts, while Elden Ring: Nightreign’s signups did not require PS Plus or Xbox Live Gold. If accurate, that makes the application result more striking because The Duskbloods was drawing from a newer console audience and from a subset of players with the required online membership.
The Elden Ring Nightreign comparison does not prove The Duskbloods will outsell Nightreign, nor does it tell us how broad the final audience will be once price, release date, reviews, server quality, and matchmaking all enter the frame. It does suggest that FromSoftware’s audience is willing to follow the studio into a Switch 2 exclusive, even when the pitch is built around online play rather than the solitary exploration many players associate with the studio’s modern reputation.
FromSoftware demand is bigger than one brand name
Kitao’s explanation points to a shift in player behavior rather than a simple popularity contest. As translated by Nintendo Everything, he suggested some players initially overlooked Nightreign because it was multiplayer, then came around after launch. That matters for The Duskbloods because it is also being presented through a multiplayer lens, with Siliconera describing its network test build as an early taste of FromSoftware’s full PvPvE structure.
That format changes the rhythm. The classic FromSoftware arc is often personal: read the room, learn the boss, return sharper, turn failure into choreography. A PvPvE setup adds a second pulse. Players are watching enemy patterns while tracking the risk of other human-controlled Bloodsworn entering the scene, cutting across a fight, or becoming a late-match threat. Siliconera’s hands-on coverage describes alliance systems, character-specific objectives called Sigils, and a structure where players can cooperate earlier before facing each other later.
The higher application count therefore hints at two layers of demand. The first is broad confidence in FromSoftware’s name. The second is curiosity about how the studio’s combat language changes when the arena is shared with other players. For Switch 2, that is a meaningful test case. The platform is getting a FromSoftware game that is not simply trading on nostalgia or a port history, according to the available coverage. It is asking Nintendo’s new hardware audience to show up for an online, systems-driven action game built around pressure from both monsters and other players.
The test itself gives clues about the game players are chasing
The Duskbloods remains an in-progress game, so the network test should be treated as a limited technical and design snapshot rather than a final verdict. Still, hands-on coverage gives some shape to what applicants were trying to access. Siliconera’s preview identifies the game as a PvPvE FromSoftware title and singled out Layla, a sniper Bloodsworn, as a standout from the network test build.
In that build, Siliconera says Layla used Twin Katars for fast melee attacks and a Sniper Rifle for ranged combat. The outlet described her gunplay as allowing aimed shots for greater accuracy and headshots, with auto-targeting useful against smaller NPC enemies. Her default special, Neb-Ra Vanishing, reportedly let her turn into a cloud of bugs, dash away, and leave behind a decoy that drew NPC aggression for a short time.
Those details matter because they indicate The Duskbloods is not being described only as a brawl where everyone rushes the center of the map. The test build, at least in Siliconera’s account, had room for methodical range play, escape tools, character identity, and objective pressure. Siliconera also describes a Sigil tied to Layla called Sigil of an Old Friend, which encouraged the player to find a randomly selected former ally and form an alliance for points. That kind of system could create shifting match stories: temporary trust, tactical distance, then the eventual question of who survives when cooperation stops being convenient.
The first-session hitch keeps the server question alive
Demand is useful, but for an online action game it is also a stress test before launch. Nintendo Everything reports that The Duskbloods had a major hitch with the first closed network test session, which was canceled, while later sessions seemed to go relatively smoothly. That is the practical counterweight to the application milestone. A large applicant pool is encouraging for awareness, but it raises the stakes for matchmaking, session stability, latency, and recovery plans when something goes wrong.
This is especially important because The Duskbloods is being positioned around multiplayer interactions rather than optional online flavor. In a PvPvE match, the feel of combat depends on timing and readability. A mistimed dodge against an enemy is one kind of frustration. A fight compromised by connection instability, uneven matchmaking, or failed sessions cuts deeper because it disrupts the rhythm the whole design appears to be chasing.
The canceled first session is not evidence that launch will be unstable. Network tests exist to expose precisely these problems before release. But it is the next concrete area Switch 2 players should watch. If FromSoftware or Nintendo communicates clearly about what happened, what was adjusted, and how future sessions or launch infrastructure will be handled, that would do more to convert test curiosity into day-one confidence than another raw popularity comparison.
What Switch 2 players should watch before launch
The confirmed platform picture from the provided sources is straightforward: The Duskbloods is planned for Nintendo Switch 2, and Nintendo Everything says it is still scheduled to launch sometime this year. Instant Gaming’s news post similarly says the exact release date is still unknown. No source material here provides a final date, price, file size, performance target, or whether another public test will happen.
That leaves several practical questions unresolved. Switch 2 owners should watch for a firm release date first, because “this year” is still a wide window. They should also watch whether Nintendo Switch Online remains required for play at launch, since Gameranx reported it was required for test signups. Players interested primarily in solo FromSoftware experiences should pay attention to future previews or official explanations of match structure, because the strongest available descriptions frame The Duskbloods around PvPvE play, alliances, objectives, and eventual player conflict.
There is also a broader platform context. Shacknews notes that FromSoftware has had little presence on Nintendo Switch and says Elden Ring Tarnished Edition is set to arrive at the end of August, with The Duskbloods scheduled for release this year. If both land as planned, Switch 2 becomes a more serious home for FromSoftware players than Nintendo hardware has typically been in recent years, at least based on the sources provided.
For now, the cleanest conclusion is also the most interesting one: The Duskbloods applicants outpaced Elden Ring: Nightreign’s closed test applicants despite the Switch 2 exclusivity, the newer hardware base, and the game’s multiplayer identity. That does not settle the game’s commercial future. It does show that FromSoftware’s next match has already pulled a crowd to the gate, and the next test is whether the servers, combat tempo, and final release plan can hold that crowd once the doors open.