The Duskbloods

The Duskbloods — everything we know so far
As of August 21, 2026, The Duskbloods has gone from being one of FromSoftware's most mysterious projects to a game we now understand surprisingly well. A major press hands-on embargo lifted yesterday, Hidetaka Miyazaki gave a new round of interviews, and the first closed network-test session begins today. The important qualification is that there is still no officially announced release date beyond 2026. A September 24 date briefly appeared in press coverage yesterday, but Nintendo said that date was inaccurate and the journalist involved said it had been inserted by mistake. GamesRadar+





The official Nintendo store still lists the game simply as a 2026 release and describes online play for one to eight players. Nintendo of Europe SE

Where The Duskbloods came from​

This is not a project that Nintendo commissioned after seeing Elden Ring. According to Miyazaki, FromSoftware had accumulated a collection of multiplayer ideas over the years—ideas related to systems such as Demon's Souls and Dark Souls invasions and Covenants, but which never quite fit into those predominantly single-player games. The Duskbloods became a place to combine those ideas into something designed around player interaction from the beginning. MMO.Net

FromSoftware brought a very rough version of the concept to Nintendo. Miyazaki characterized it as closer to a loose group of ideas than a polished pitch. Nintendo was enthusiastic, so FromSoftware began developing it with a relatively small team for the original Nintendo Switch. During development, Nintendo told FromSoftware about Switch 2. The project was consequently reworked around the more capable hardware and, importantly, its improved online possibilities. Nintendo of Europe SE

There is also evidence that this has been gestating for quite a while. In Miyazaki's new 2026 interview, the interviewer refers to the project having been in development in some form since 2021. FromSoftware hasn't published a formal production timeline confirming every stage, so I'd treat 2021 as credible interview context rather than a hard official start date. MMO.Net

The relationship with Nintendo apparently goes substantially beyond exclusivity money. Miyazaki says Nintendo has been involved with feedback on the game's complicated rules, balance and especially onboarding. He rather amusingly acknowledged that FromSoftware historically tended to put people into its games and expect them to work things out. Nintendo has pushed them toward much clearer tutorials here. MMO.Net

That helps explain why it appears unlikely that this is simply a timed Switch 2 exclusive waiting for an easy PC/PlayStation port. Nintendo has been involved in the project since its conception and its systems were redeveloped around Switch 2. Nothing officially rules out some distant future arrangement, but no other platform version has been announced or hinted at.

It is absolutely not Bloodborne 2​

This deserves its own section because the reveal trailer practically begged people to make the comparison.

The gothic architecture, blood obsession, elegant vampire-like protagonists, firearms, Victorian imagery and Miyazaki's direct involvement made many people wonder whether The Duskbloods might secretly share some DNA with Bloodborne.

Miyazaki has now explicitly killed that theory. In an interview published today, he said the two games have no narrative connection whatsoever and joked that the frequency of the question almost made him regret putting “Blood” in the title. He says the full game's lore will make the thematic differences much clearer. GamesRadar+

So visually:

Bloodborne: Gothic horror, cosmic horror, disease, the Great Ones, Yharnam.

The Duskbloods: bloodlines, inherited history, supernatural human transcendence, relationships, fate, multiple historical eras and the end of humanity.

They share a Miyazaki visual vocabulary. They do not share a universe.

The basic lore premise​

The player characters are called the Bloodsworn. Collectively, these characters are what the title calls “Duskbloods.”

Bloodsworn are people who have transcended ordinary human limitations through a special form or lineage of blood. Miyazaki says they are conceptually adjacent to vampires, but he deliberately did not want them to be conventional horrific undead monsters. FromSoftware is instead drawing from the romantic, aristocratic, mysterious and transgressive aspects of vampire mythology. Nintendo of Europe SE

The central cosmological event is the Twilight of Humanity, alternatively rendered in newer localization as the Dusk of Humanity. As human civilization approaches its end, something called First Blood appears or flows.

Bloodsworn from different eras and places are summoned into these twilight events and compete for the right to obtain First Blood. Nintendo of Europe SE

And that immediately gives FromSoftware an excuse to do something unusually broad with its world.

There is no single historical period.

A character might come from something resembling the Victorian era, another from an earlier period and another from a comparatively industrial or technological age. The same is true of environments. Miyazaki has explicitly mentioned traditional Gothic/Victorian settings and environments resembling the closing years of the early-modern period, while trailers have shown trains, firearms and industrial machinery. Nintendo of Europe SE

The idea seems to be that humanity reaches its “dusk” at different moments or manifestations, producing a kind of temporal convergence.

Blood isn't just vampire flavor​

Blood is apparently the game's primary metaphysical organizing principle.

Miyazaki describes it as representing history, inherited power, fate and the act of transcending humanity. Your character's lineage isn't just background lore—it affects customization, abilities and even relationships with other characters. Nintendo of Europe SE

This is one of the more interesting differences between Duskbloods and Bloodborne. Blood in Bloodborne is heavily tied to medicine, addiction, corruption and cosmic contamination. Here it seems much closer to genealogy + destiny + memory.

That leads directly into one of the game's most unusual systems.

Bloodlines, Sigils and “playing a character”​

Miyazaki originally described character customization as altering a Bloodsworn's “blood history and fate.” It can affect abilities, appearance, personal characteristics, relationships and even that character's role in the world. Nintendo of Europe SE

The 2026 build gives us a clearer picture.

A major part of this is the Sigil system.

A Sigil effectively rewrites or defines part of your character's personal history and then turns that history into a live objective involving other human players.

For example, currently demonstrated Sigils can cause another player to secretly become your sworn rival whom you are rewarded for hunting. Another can define a player as an old companion whom you must find and ally with. One particularly bizarre example declares another Bloodsworn to be your lost love, leading to an objective where you find that player during the middle of the PvPvE match and propose marriage to them. Creative Collaboration

There are also more overtly role-playing scenarios such as being an inquisitor hunting characters branded as heretics.

This is deliberate.

Miyazaki is a tabletop-RPG and board-game fan, and The Duskbloods seems to be his attempt to make something that generates the sort of emergent interpersonal stories you get in a tabletop session—but automatically, inside an action game. MMO.Net

This is probably the most important thing to understand about Duskbloods:

It isn't really trying to be an eight-player Souls battle royale.

It is trying to make eight players into actors in a constantly changing little drama.

How an actual match works​

The latest hands-on build finally makes this reasonably clear.

Eight Bloodsworn enter a large map. Rather than immediately murdering one another, they spend most of the match accumulating a score currently called Virtue.

The match consists of three timed main phases followed by a final confrontation, making four stages in practical terms. The hands-on build gives each preliminary phase roughly eight minutes, putting a full successful match at around 30 minutes. MMO.Net

Everyone survives Phase I.

After Phase II, the two lowest-Virtue players are culled.

After Phase III, three more are removed.

That leaves the top three, who are transported to the finale.

In the network-test ruleset, that finale is called the Moon Blood Bestowal, a three-way PvP battle beneath a blood-red sky. The winner receives First Blood. MMO.Net

So it superficially resembles battle royale elimination, but survival is determined mostly by score rather than by staying alive.

You can die during the ordinary match and respawn. Death mostly costs you valuable time. MMO.Net

Virtue: the game's real objective​

This is where the board-game influence becomes obvious.

Virtue functions much like victory points in a board game. Instead of there being one correct path to victory, several overlapping activities generate points.

You can obtain Virtue through PvE kills, collecting items, finding special objects, defeating dangerous monsters, performing personal Sigil objectives and participating in competitive events. MMO.Net

Known categories in the current build include Bloodfang Virtue for outperforming others in enemy kills, Collector Virtue for item collection, Flame Virtue from locating purple-flamed remains, Repulsion Virtue for defeating powerful PvE creatures called Trespassers, Pledge Virtue for capturing Ritual objectives and Sword Virtue for PvP kills within those Ritual areas. MMO.Net

The clever part is that the most obvious action—killing other players—is ordinarily not necessarily valuable.

You could spend ten minutes hunting another Bloodsworn and discover that while you were doing that, somebody else killed monsters, found objectives and overtook you on Virtue. You won the duel and lost the actual game.

That's very different from conventional extraction shooters or battle royales.

Rituals: where PvP becomes valuable​

During later phases, the game can declare an area a Ritual Site.

Several capture points appear inside the zone. Players can claim them for Virtue, steal claimed positions from other players and gain additional Virtue for killing players in the area.

That temporarily turns a section of the map into something resembling King of the Hill. MMO.Net

There are consumables that further complicate this. Goldstones can improve Virtue earned from captures while Redstones improve rewards from player kills.

So the game's structure dynamically moves between:

exploration → PvE → alliance → personal role-playing → PvP → PvE boss → exploration again.

That's why Miyazaki has started sounding slightly uncomfortable with the simple PvPvE label. The new previews repeatedly describe the game as closer to a competitive board game wrapped around FromSoftware combat. Reddit

PvE bosses and temporary cooperation​

Powerful creatures called Trespassers roam the map.

Some appear as marked boss encounters. When one is engaged, other players can sometimes warp to the fight and cooperate.

In the current implementation, PvP targeting is disabled within those boss encounters so everyone can concentrate on killing the creature. Participants then share the Virtue reward and warped players can return to where they were. Creative Collaboration

This means the person trying to murder you five minutes earlier might suddenly become your co-op partner.

And then become your enemy again.

That instability is intentional.

Alliances​

Players can create temporary alliances.

An allied player becomes visually distinguishable and cannot easily be targeted or accidentally attacked by you. That lets two otherwise competing Bloodsworn clear PvE encounters together.

But if both survive into the final confrontation, the alliance ends. Creative Collaboration

FromSoftware is also experimenting with matchmaking and mentor-like systems in which skilled veterans could deliberately ally with newer players, borrowing philosophically from the old Souls tradition of summoning experienced players to help at bosses. MMO.Net

Duos​

The latest hands-on material also confirms a Duos format.

Two players can share Virtue as a team. The best two teams advance to a 2v2 finale rather than the normal three-player free-for-all. MMO.Net

That suggests the game's match rules will be more flexible than the original reveal implied.

The final battle​

The network-test finale is deliberately much closer to straightforward high-skill PvP.

Three players enter a relatively constrained arena. Each appears to have two lives in the current version. Summoned companions remain involved, and because every character has both melee and ranged tools, the fight plays less like a conventional Souls duel and more like a highly mobile 3D arena fighter. MMO.Net

You can apparently even knock someone completely out of the arena.

But the network-test finale is not the only ending planned for the finished game.

Miyazaki has confirmed that a cooperative final phase exists. Character customization can apparently influence the likelihood or availability of this type of ending, giving less PvP-oriented players another path. MMO.Net

That's an important point because it answers one of the original complaints about the reveal: this isn't necessarily “play PvE for 25 minutes and then be forced to duel.”

Combat​

Moment-to-moment combat still contains a lot of FromSoftware DNA.

Players have melee attacks, ranged attacks, blocks and a perfectly timed defensive mechanic resembling a parry. A successful timing window can trigger a sonic howl that staggers an opponent. Staggered enemies can then be bitten, dealing heavy damage and restoring health. MMO.Net

Biting some weaker creatures can apparently convert them into followers.

Each Bloodsworn also has bespoke skills. One is available from the start and a stronger ability unlocks once the character reaches the necessary level—level 12 in the current network build. MMO.Net

Players level up inside each match, gaining HP, stamina and combat effectiveness much like Nightreign. Previewers were generally reaching somewhere around level 17–20 by the final stage. MMO.Net

Movement is radically faster than Souls​

The 2025 description already promised sprinting, super-jumps and double jumps. The 2026 build turns out to be even wilder.

One recent hands-on reports multiple chained jumps—effectively up to a quadruple jump—plus aerial dashing, charged jumps and unlimited sprinting. The result looks substantially faster and more vertical than Dark Souls, Elden Ring or even Nightreign. MMO.Net

That changes combat enormously.

A player can escape onto rooftops, attack vertically or launch dozens of feet into the air. Ranged attacks become important because a fleeing Bloodsworn can't simply disappear behind geometry.

One preview compared the overall pace to Bloodborne or Nightreign, but said that during PvP it can occasionally feel closer to a character-action game such as Devil May Cry. MMO.Net

It also creates one of the preview build's biggest problems: camera tracking. Reviewers noted that Souls-style lock-on can struggle when another human launches high into the air or several characters and summons converge simultaneously. MMO.Net

Every character has ranged combat​

Unlike many Souls games where ranged fighting is a build choice, every Bloodsworn has some sort of ranged capability.

That can mean firearms, magical/projectile attacks or weapons designed to function at multiple distances.

Miyazaki specifically called firearms one of the setting advantages during the original 2025 interview. Nintendo of Europe SE

That makes sense for PvP: players need a way to pressure healing, prevent indefinite retreat and interact with enemies moving through the vertical environment.

The Kin system​

Every player can acquire a computer-controlled companion known as a Kin.

Kin are found through summoning locations on the map and persist alongside you. Different Kin specialize in combat or support functions, and they gain levels separately from the player. If killed, they enter a cooldown and later return. MMO.Net

This is effectively another layer of buildcraft.

And Miyazaki says the launch game's customization can push this much further: players uncomfortable with intense PvP may be able to invest in a build where the Kin does substantially more of the fighting. MMO.Net

Known Bloodsworn​

The network-test build journalists played contained six characters.

Albert is the silver-haired figure featured heavily in promotional material. He is an agile all-rounder with a sword and machine gun plus a blood-projectile ability.

Trang Lanh fights with chakrams that work in melee or at range. She can cloak herself and later summon a huge white snake.

Zork is perhaps the standout visually: a huge industrial/diving-suit-like Bloodsworn with a massive articulated weapon. His Human Rocket ability propels him across the battlefield, while his advanced ability fires mortar-like projectiles. Miyazaki says the original design idea involved a Bloodsworn emerging from the deep sea and cites Ultraman/Ultra Seven sea monsters as an influence.

Senator Samir Patres is an aristocratic/skeletal-looking fighter whose advanced ability can transform him into a dinosaur.

Sniper Layla emphasizes long-range shooting to the point that one preview said she can make portions of the game resemble a third-person shooter.

Bloodhand Jan uses an axe combined with fire/mage-style abilities. MMO.Net

There is a discrepancy worth watching. Miyazaki's original 2025 interview said “over a dozen” Bloodsworn were planned. One August 2026 hands-on report now says 10 are planned for the full release. That could represent a scope change, a misunderstanding relating to launch/test availability, or simply information that has not yet been reconciled publicly. I would therefore regard the final roster count as not settled until FromSoftware gives us a fresh official roster announcement. Nintendo of Europe SE

There are also supposed leaks claiming 14 characters, but those are unverified and contradict the fresh hands-on information, so I would not treat the leaked names as canon yet. Niche Gamer

Lowanro City​

The network-test map is Lowanro City.

This is the environment that most immediately makes people think “Bloodborne”: gothic towers, narrow streets, castles, sewers, a bloody moon, old industrial structures and a cathedral-dominated skyline.

But it is only one example of the game's setting.

Miyazaki says Lowanro was chosen for the test precisely because its vampire symbolism makes the game's central aesthetic immediately legible. Other launch maps come from completely different eras and architectural traditions. Creative Collaboration

Current preview information says the finished game is planned to launch with three maps. MMO.Net

Lowanro itself is highly vertical. Areas mentioned or demonstrated include foggy lowlands/swamps, sewers, bridges, city streets, roofs and cathedral districts.

Each phase can change which parts of the map are strategically valuable. One region might provide Flame Virtue; another might improve weapon acquisition; another might accelerate Kin experience.

This gives map knowledge a role similar to knowing efficient routes through Limveld in Nightreign, except mobility is even more extreme.

Random events​

Matches aren't static.

FromSoftware has built an event system that can dramatically change priorities midway through a game.

The original trailer's enormous stone face in the sky was one such event. Miyazaki said its appearance modifies the environment and reward structure. Nintendo of Europe SE

The playable build contains events such as a zeppelin from which players can call down destructive bombardments and a race to become the first person to reach and ring a bell at the top of a tall structure. MMO.Net

Enemy placements, items, Virtue opportunities and events contain varying levels of randomness. One purpose of this weekend's network test is apparently to determine how much randomness is actually fun. MMO.Net

The House of Night​

Between matches, players return to a hub called The House of Night.

This functions roughly as The Duskbloods' Firelink Shrine/Roundtable Hold equivalent.

You'll select Bloodsworn, inspect lore, customize characters, interact with NPCs and progress character stories. Only portions of the House were accessible to previewers, so its full scope remains deliberately hidden. Creative Collaboration

The strange winged rat seen in the reveal is an elderly male NPC who occupies a role somewhat analogous to the Fire Keepers of Dark Souls: he remains in the hub and offers guidance. Miyazaki joked that he was FromSoftware's attempt to create something a little more “Nintendo-esque” and cute. Nintendo of Europe SE

How storytelling works​

This may be the most ambitious element after the Sigils.

Miyazaki still wants the classic FromSoftware model of fragmented lore that players piece together, but he's adapting it to multiplayer.

The hub contains more traditional NPC scenes and story material. Character upgrades and customization also reveal memories and backstory.

But matches themselves can unlock lore.

Specific Bloodsworn encountering each other under particular Sigils or events may reveal previously unknown relationships. New dialogue can trigger. Character history can become visible. Those encounters then expand that Bloodsworn's Bloodline back in the House of Night. MMO.Net

So discovering lore may sometimes require something like:

play character A → encounter character B → while one of you has Sigil X → during Event Y → unlock a hidden historical connection.

That is extremely Miyazaki.

It also means lore hunters could end up trying to deliberately engineer rare multiplayer combinations.

Progression isn't supposed to require winning​

FromSoftware appears aware that a competitive multiplayer game can become miserable if only winners meaningfully progress.

Miyazaki says rewards, character customization and story content will continue to unlock simply through playing, and reaching the final three is itself intended to be treated as a meaningful achievement even if you lose the ultimate battle. MMO.Net

Ranked matchmaking is also planned so new players shouldn't routinely be thrown against elite veterans. MMO.Net

There will essentially be Dark Souls-style invasions​

One of the wildest new confirmations is that the eight-player limit is not necessarily absolute.

Miyazaki says a system analogous to Souls invasions is planned.

A player may be able to enter an already-running eight-player match as a ninth participant whose purpose is simply PvP. That invader doesn't need to collect Virtue like the normal Bloodsworn. Their role is to fight the existing players. MMO.Net

That sounds like FromSoftware taking the red-phantom concept and dropping it into a score-based multiplayer board game.

What Nintendo is bringing to the design​

Nintendo's involvement is particularly interesting because Miyazaki is unusually open about it.

FromSoftware has the strange rules, combat and world.

Nintendo is apparently helping the studio answer:

“How do we explain this insane thing to an ordinary player?”

Miyazaki describes Nintendo as providing continuous feedback, balancing assistance and suggestions, but especially helping make the rules understandable. MMO.Net

Previewers consequently encountered a much more explicit, multi-stage tutorial than is typical for FromSoftware.

Relationship to Elden Ring Nightreign​

The timing makes Duskbloods look like FromSoftware suddenly decided multiplayer is the future.

Miyazaki says that isn't what happened.

Nightreign had a different director and evolved separately. The two projects simply happened to overlap. In fact, Duskbloods appears to have begun earlier.

Miyazaki says FromSoftware still has a heavy focus on single-player games and jokes that spending a long time working on multiplayer actually makes him want to make another single-player project. MMO.Net

Mechanically, though, Nightreign has undoubtedly given FromSoftware valuable experience with matchmaking, session-based character leveling, network balancing and post-launch multiplayer support.

Miyazaki specifically says that Nightreign's support experience is informing how FromSoftware plans to handle Duskbloods balancing and bug fixes. MMO.Net

Post-launch support​

The studio is committing to normal multiplayer necessities such as bug fixes and balance changes.

Miyazaki says FromSoftware understands that a multiplayer title requires more responsiveness to player feedback than a purely single-player game. The Sigil system, randomness and match balance are explicitly being treated as systems that may change based on observed player behavior. MMO.Net

There is no announced DLC/content roadmap yet.

Miyazaki does, however, speak about character relationships and stories being systems that could evolve through additional content. MMO.Net

Switch 2 performance​

The press build targets 60 fps.

One eight-hour preview said it did not maintain that target perfectly. Drops occurred during particularly crowded or chaotic battles, but the reviewer did not consider the performance problems severe enough to interfere significantly with gameplay. MMO.Net

No final resolution targets, performance/quality modes or technical specifications have been announced.

Because the game isn't finished, I'd resist drawing strong conclusions from the test build either positively or negatively.

The current Network Test​

This weekend is the first large public test.

It is intended specifically to test server load, multiplayer behavior and game balance. Applications ran July 22–28 and participants were accepted in application order until capacity was filled. Codes went out August 18. NetworkTest

For North America, the five official sessions are:

Aug. 21: 3–7 a.m. PDT
Aug. 21: 7–11 p.m. PDT
Aug. 22: 11 a.m.–3 p.m. PDT
Aug. 23: 3–7 a.m. PDT
Aug. 23: 7–11 p.m. PDT. NetworkTest

In U.S. Central time, that first session is 5–9 a.m. CDT today.

Players must have a Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch Online membership. FromSoftware has prohibited participants from posting screenshots or video, and the Switch 2 Capture button is disabled while playing the test. NetworkTest

That means the substantial footage published by media outlets yesterday came from FromSoftware/Nintendo-provided material, rather than journalists simply uploading their own captured sessions.

Current press reaction​

Yesterday's preview wave is considerably more positive than the reaction to the original announcement.

The initial reveal caused understandable skepticism because many FromSoftware fans wanted another big single-player RPG and interpreted “eight-player PvPvE” as either a battle royale or another Nightreign.

The new hands-ons describe something considerably stranger and more ambitious.

The Verge's preview emphasizes that Duskbloods rewards exploration, objectives and role-playing rather than merely rewarding the best duelist. The Verge

The Guardian found the UI and randomness potentially overwhelming but described the climactic three-player fights as extremely exciting. The Guardian

Other eight-hour preview coverage calls it potentially one of FromSoftware's most complicated games and praises the Virtue/Sigil structure while identifying lock-on and camera behavior as its most obvious current combat weakness. MMO.Net


The Verge
We played The Duskbloods, the Switch 2's wildest new exclusive
Today

The Verge
FromSoftware can do anything
Today
The Guardian
The Duskbloods: the best of FromSoftware fights in a frantic multiplayer battleground | Games | The Guardian
Yesterday
GamesRadar+
Stop the Bloodborne hunt, Miyazaki says The Duskbloods is totally unrelated: "I almost regret putting the word 'Blood' in the title"
Today

Nintendo Life
Nintendo Denies Rumoured Release Date For The Duskbloods
Today

What is still unknown​

Despite how much we suddenly know, some major pieces remain hidden. We do not yet have the real release date, price, physical-edition details, complete launch roster, full customization trees, precise long-term progression/economy, monetization structure, complete list of Sigils, names and themes of the other two planned maps, exact nature of First Blood, complete cosmology behind the Twilight/Dusk of Humanity, full Bloodline relationship chart, all possible final-match conditions, or any post-launch content schedule.

Most importantly, we still know relatively little about what the actual story means.

FromSoftware deliberately limited the network build's lore, and Miyazaki says the retail version exposes much more of it. GamesRadar+

Why I think the game is more interesting than its original reveal suggested​

The April 2025 description made The Duskbloods sound like “FromSoftware makes an eight-player PvPvE game.”

The August 2026 version is much stranger:

Dark Souls combat + Bloodborne mobility/aesthetic vocabulary + Nightreign-style match progression + board-game victory points + tabletop-RPG character relationships + Souls invasions + AI summons + social role-playing.

The system that could make or break the whole thing is Sigils/Bloodlines, not the basic combat.

If that system genuinely creates situations where you suddenly discover that the player hunting you is your ancestral rival, the person you're cooperating with is unknowingly part of your character's past, or your objective abruptly becomes finding and marrying another player while everyone else is racing to avoid elimination, then The Duskbloods could be one of the most experimental games Miyazaki has directed.

The game's newest material makes it look much less like FromSoftware chasing the multiplayer market and much more like Miyazaki using multiplayer as an excuse to build a procedural role-playing drama generator.


The Duskbloods — original Nintendo Switch 2 reveal trailer
youtube.com
If you'd like, I can also go one level deeper and build a full Duskbloods lore/cosmology dossier, including every identifiable Bloodsworn, every symbol and creature shown in the trailers, the meaning of First Blood/Moontears, likely historical eras, and the strongest current theories about what the Twilight of Humanity actually is.