FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki has indicated that the studio plans to return to single-player games after The Duskbloods, its upcoming multiplayer-focused title for Nintendo Switch 2. The comments come ahead of The Duskbloods network test, which begins today, August 21, at 11am BST.
Miyazaki, speaking to IGN, said there was never a deliberate plan to release two multiplayer games back-to-back. Elden Ring: Nightreign and The Duskbloods both require online play, but the timing was coincidental. 'It's funny because there was never really any big plan that these two games would both release next to each other,' he said. 'I mean, that's a different director, but both of those ideas just coincided with being multiplayer games.'
No shift away from single-player
Miyazaki emphasized that the studio's recent output does not signal a permanent shift. 'It's not necessarily some big reveal saying that this is the direction we plan to go moving forward,' he said. 'We still have a heavy focus on single-player content as well. This is just something that happened to work out the way it did.'
He added that working on multiplayer projects has actually increased his desire to create single-player experiences again. 'But, it's like, the more you work on something multiplayer for a long time, if anything, it scratches that itch only to want to make something single-player again.'
The Duskbloods as a creative outlet
Miyazaki described The Duskbloods as a space for ideas that 'didn't really fit in the context of a single-player game.' He also explained why Nintendo was the right partner for the project. According to Miyazaki, Nintendo 'seemed very excited and very receptive' to the pitch, which gave him 'a lot more reassurance for moving forward' with the concept.
He also cited FromSoftware's historical struggles with tutorials as a reason for the collaboration. 'The onboarding tutorials and making sure players understand how the game works and how to succeed in the game is something we've historically not been super great at conveying instantly,' he said. 'We've definitely just dropped players in and hoped they would figure it out. Nintendo is definitely the right partner for better conveying that information in a way that is understandable to the player; it definitely suits their strengths.'
Network test details
The Duskbloods is a PvPvE game with battle royale elements. Each match pits eight players against each other across four timed phases, with players eliminated until one remains. The goal is to gather Virtue by defeating players, bosses, or discovering Virtue-infused corpses. In the fourth phase, the top three players with the most Virtue enter an arena battle to decide the winner.
The network test began today at 11am BST and runs through Monday, August 24. The schedule includes sessions on Friday from 11am to 3pm BST, Saturday from 3am to 7am and 7pm to 11pm BST, Sunday from 11am to 3pm BST, and Monday from 3am to 7am BST. Registration for the test closed in late July, and successful applicants have already received codes. A release date for The Duskbloods has not been announced, but it is expected to launch later in 2026.
