Elden Ring developer’s next game will be playable for first time next month

It seems we won’t have to wait much longer to get a better idea of how The Duskbloods might pan out. The next game from Dark Souls and Elden Ring developer FromSoftware will be playable quite soon, with a Closed Network Test scheduled for next month.

Applications for the test will go from July 22, 10 a.m. EDT to July 28, 9:59 a.m. EDT; make sure to equip your Silver Scarabs for good luck. However, before pulling lots, keep in mind that “to apply for and participate in the network test, you must have a Nintendo Switch 2 system and an active Nintendo Switch online membership.” Requiring an online membership for demos and other free downloads is a sicko move that basically only Nintendo does among the major console manufacturers, offering another reminder of why it’s odd that FromSoft is making a Switch 2-exclusive multiplayer game. The network test will run from Aug. 21 to Aug 23.

The Duskbloods is FromSoftware’s latest foray into multiplayer-only titles, following up on the surprisingly successful Elden Ring: Nightreign. The game was first revealed during a 2025 Nintendo Direct, with a more recent livestream teasing this summer’s network test.

Given that it will be playable in a few weeks, FromSoft has been surprisingly cagey about the title, with its latest trailer offering few concrete details. The news release announcing the game described it as “a PvPvE title with online multiplayer at its core, where up to eight players vie for supremacy among themselves and against challenging foes.” The announcement trailer shows a hodgepodge of combatants: there’s a Victorian noble, a dinosaur, a dude in his pajamas, and a steampunk man with a jetpack. To be honest, it’s a bit all over the place, even though there’s an overarching gothic-horror, vampire-focused aesthetic (something that’s drawn Bloodborne comparisons).

The announcement that FromSoftware was working on yet another multiplayer game, rather than the intricately designed single-player-focused RPGs the studio is best known for, has drawn a fair bit of skepticism. We’ll see if The Duskbloods changes hearts and minds when people get to play it in about a month.