BODY: FromSoftware's most anticipated Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive hit a snag before it even got out the gate. The studio announced that the first network test for The Duskbloods — its upcoming multiplayer action title — was cut short, ending ahead of schedule after the servers buckled.
The word came via the game's official X account at 8:42 a.m. Japan time, informing players that the session would wrap early due to server trouble. For a company whose online infrastructure has historically been the shakiest part of otherwise beloved games, the timing felt grimly familiar.
The Duskbloods marks a notable departure for FromSoftware. Revealed during a Nintendo Direct, it leans into player-versus-player and cooperative multiplayer rather than the primarily single-player structure of Elden Ring or Bloodborne — a design that makes robust netcode not just a nice-to-have but the entire foundation. A network test exists precisely to stress that foundation, so a server collapse, while embarrassing, is arguably the test doing its job.
FromSoftware has not yet detailed whether the first session's data will be salvageable or how the disruption affects the broader testing schedule. Players who registered were left waiting for follow-up guidance on subsequent test windows.
The insider take
From a Tokyo vantage point, none of this is surprising — and it may even be reassuring. FromSoftware's launch-day server meltdowns are practically a franchise tradition here; Elden Ring, Dark Souls III, and Bloodborne all wobbled online at release. The whole point of running a closed network test months ahead is to fail loudly now rather than on launch day. With Switch 2 hardware still new and the studio experimenting with a multiplayer-first structure it has never fully committed to before, a first-session stumble reads less like a red flag and more like an expensive lesson bought cheap. Japanese fans are watching closely to see how quickly the studio iterates.
Originally reported by GAME Watch (Japanese).