If you've been waiting for the chance to get your hands on FromSoftware's first Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, the wait is just about over!
Signups for The Duskbloods closed network test open Wednesday, July 22nd at 7:00 AM PT on the official network test site, and the application window runs through July 28th at 6:59 AM PT.
You won't want to sit on this one. FromSoftware says applications are accepted in the order they're received, and the number of testers is limited, so set that alarm for Wednesday morning.
The test itself runs across five play sessions from August 21st through August 23rd (Pacific time), each one a four-hour window, with up to eight players per match. New to these? A network test is a limited online trial run: FromSoftware gets to hammer its servers before launch, and you get an early taste of the game.
What You'll Need To Apply
- A Nintendo Switch 2 console
- An active Nintendo Switch Online membership
- A Nintendo Account
- An application submitted on the official site between July 22nd at 7:00 AM PT and July 28th at 6:59 AM PT
The Switch Online requirement is firm, so if your membership is about to lapse, renew it before August.
Applications are open across the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific, and the test build itself is free. If you make the cut, you'll be notified on August 7th at 6:00 AM PT, and your download code can be redeemed on the Nintendo eShop starting August 18th at 6:00 AM PT. As Shacknews points out, FromSoftware is already warning that bugs may pop up during the sessions, so expect some rough edges along the way.
When Can You Play?
Selected testers get five four-hour windows spread across a single weekend, so night owls and early birds are both covered:
- Friday, August 21st: 3:00 AM to 7:00 AM PT
- Friday, August 21st: 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM PT
- Saturday, August 22nd: 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM PT
- Sunday, August 23rd: 3:00 AM to 7:00 AM PT
- Sunday, August 23rd: 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM PT
Those 3:00 AM slots are there on purpose. It's one worldwide schedule, so an early-morning session in the States lands at a comfortable 11:00 AM in the UK and in the evening for players in Japan. VGC has the full session breakdown in UK time if you're joining from Europe.
Why does one weekend of sessions matter this much? It's the first hands-on signal FromSoftware has given since The Duskbloods was revealed during the Switch 2 reveal Direct in April of 2025, with Nintendo itself publishing. The game is a real departure for the studio: a PvPvE multiplayer title where the vampiric Bloodsworn fight against, and sometimes alongside, one another in a gothic, blood-soaked world. Hidetaka Miyazaki, the director behind Dark Souls and Elden Ring, is at the helm. We've watched trailers and read interviews for over a year now, and nobody outside FromSoftware has played it. That changes in August!
FromSoftware has been down this road before, too. Elden Ring held a closed network test in November of 2021, roughly three months before launch, and Elden Ring Nightreign ran one in February of 2025 ahead of its May release, and interest in that one ran hot enough that its opening session struggled under the load. If the pattern holds, an August test bodes very well for the 2026 release window, even though FromSoftware hasn't attached a date yet.
It's shaping up to be a massive stretch for the Switch 2 in general, between exclusives like this one, a record-setting first year of hardware sales, and a steady stream of hardware rumors... including that Samsung OLED report we recently broke down.
Want one more look before you commit? Check out the newest trailer below, straight from June's Nintendo Direct, for a taste of what the Bloodsworn are all about!
With spots limited and submissions processed in the order they arrive, make sure and get your application in early when the window opens Wednesday morning!
Will you be applying for The Duskbloods network test? What do you most want FromSoftware to prove across those five sessions?
Let us know in the comments below!
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