The creators of Elden Ring will debut their Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive to the public in August, via a network test you can sign up for now.
Along with The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time remake, the other big Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive this autumn is developer FromSoftware’s The Duskbloods.
Despite being announced last year, we know very little about the title. We know it’s a multiplayer action game directed by Dark Souls and Elden Ring creator Hidetaka Miyazaki, which will support up to eight players and combine competitive and player versus environment (PvE) elements, but that’s pretty much it.
FromSoftware promised a network test for The Duskbloods in the summer, during last month’s Nintendo Direct, and now the studio has revealed the exact dates and times of when it’ll take place.
As announced on X, The Duskbloods closed network test spans four days in Europe, from August 21 to August 24, 2026. You can find a breakdown of the UK times below.
You can sign up for the network test from Wednesday July 22 at 3pm BST on the official website, with applications closing on Tuesday July 28 at 2.59pm BST. To apply, you’ll need a Switch 2 console and an active Nintendo Switch Online membership.
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Those who are successful will be notified by Friday, August 7 at 2pm BST.
The Duskblood network test times in the UK
- Friday August 21 – 11am to 2.59pm BST
- Saturday August 22 – 3am to 6.59am BST/7pm to 10.59pm BST
- Sunday August 23 – 11am to 2.59pm BST
- Monday August 24 – 3am to 6.59am BST
As outlined on the website, the network test is designed to ‘check different technical aspects of the game’s online systems’.
‘The Duskbloods Network Test allows for up to eight players to participate together in each of the multiplayer matches while the game is still in development,’ a description reads. ‘We ask for your understanding that bugs may occur during gameplay.’
While FromSoftware’s pedigree allows for a degree of mystery, it’s still a weird situation where these network tests will likely double as a reveal of the actual game – unless Nintendo or FromSoftware shares a gameplay trailer within the next couple of weeks.
Interestingly, this network test concludes a day before Gamescom Opening Night Live on August 25, 2026, so we might get a concrete release date at the convention.
If The Duskbloods is still planned for 2026, it’ll be interesting to see where it’ll fall on the calendar. Nintendo still hasn’t announced a release date for the Zelda remake yet, and with Nintendo Switch Sports: Resort locked in for October, they both run the risk of going up against GTA 6 in November.
Nintendo’s likely to care far less about that than most other publishers but the lack of information about their upcoming games has reached such a point that even analysts are counting it against them, since Nintendo has shown even less of their new Zelda title – despite it being a remake of a 28 year old game.
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