The Duskbloods Delayed to 2027: FromSoftware's Switch 2 Exclusive Needs More Time for Balancing

Switch 2 owners hoping to round out 2026 with a new FromSoftware game will have to wait a little longer. On October 29, the studio behind Dark Souls and Elden Ring announced that The Duskbloods, its Nintendo Switch 2-exclusive multiplayer action game, has slipped out of its 2026 window and will now launch in 2027.

The news came in a short statement on the game's official social media accounts. There's still no specific release date – not even a month or season – so the game has effectively gone from "sometime this year" to "sometime next year."

What FromSoftware said

According to the statement, development is already at what the studio calls the "final adjustment stage." Rather than rushing out the door in the last weeks of the year, FromSoftware wants more time to fine-tune the game's rules and balance.

The studio tied that decision directly to its closed network test, saying players showed strong interest in the game's core ideas – specifically its combat, strategic depth and player expression. The extra months are meant to sharpen exactly those areas before launch. FromSoftware also apologized to fans who have been waiting and thanked them for their patience.

In short:

• Old window: 2026 (no exact date was ever announced)
• New window: 2027 (no exact date yet)
• Platform: Nintendo Switch 2 only
• Stated reason: final adjustments to game rules and balancing, informed by network test feedback

A delay that was easy to see coming

If this feels unsurprising, that's because it is. With barely two months left in 2026, FromSoftware had still not announced a release date, and the studio had been fairly quiet about the game. As Nintendo Everything pointed out, there was simply very little runway left for a 2026 launch and the promotion that would come with it.

The only substantial public look at the game this year came through the closed network test, which ran from August 21 to 24, 2026, across a handful of timed sessions. It was designed primarily as a stress test – FromSoftware wanted to see how its servers handled large numbers of players being connected at once – rather than a lengthy hands-on demo. Even so, it gave the studio its first wave of real-world feedback on how matches actually play out, and that feedback is now being cited as part of the reason for the delay.

What is The Duskbloods?

The Duskbloods was one of the biggest surprises of the April 2, 2025 Nintendo Direct that introduced the Switch 2. It's directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki, the creative lead behind Dark Souls, Bloodborne and Elden Ring, and it's a very different kind of FromSoftware game.

Instead of a solo adventure with optional co-op, The Duskbloods is built with multiplayer at its core. It's a PvPvE action game for up to eight players, who compete against each other while also fighting tough enemies. Players take on the role of the Bloodsworn, beings whose special blood grants them powers beyond normal humans – and those blood-based abilities shape how each character fights.

The gothic look of the reveal trailer instantly drew comparisons to Bloodborne, which goes a long way toward explaining the hype around a game that, structurally, has more in common with competitive multiplayer titles than with FromSoftware's classic single-player formula.

The game also has an unusual origin story. In a Nintendo interview published shortly after the reveal, Miyazaki explained that the project started as a smaller game for the original Switch. When Nintendo approached FromSoftware about Switch 2, the team reworked its plans for the new hardware, saying the console's online features let it stay closer to its original vision.

How fans are reacting

Delays rarely go down well, but this one seems to be an exception. CGMagazine noted that the response in the game's community, including on Reddit, has been largely positive, with many players saying they would rather wait for a more polished, better-balanced game than get a rushed one.

That reaction makes sense. A competitive multiplayer game lives or dies on balance in a way a single-player Souls game doesn't. A broken build or an overpowered ability can sour an entire community within days of launch, and this is a new kind of game for FromSoftware. Taking extra time to adjust rules and tuning after seeing real players in action is arguably the safest move the studio could make.

What it means for Switch 2 owners

For Nintendo, losing one of the Switch 2's most talked-about third-party exclusives from the 2026 lineup is a blow to its holiday calendar, though Switch 2 owners already got another FromSoftware release this year: Elden Ring Tarnished Edition arrived on the console in August after its own delay.

For players, the takeaway is simple: don't expect The Duskbloods before the new year. There's no release month, no pre-order date and no price yet, so the next big signal will likely be a fresh trailer or a release date announcement – quite possibly in a future Nintendo Direct. Until then, the August network test remains the only time most players have been able to get their hands on it.

We'll update The Duskbloods hub as soon as FromSoftware or Nintendo shares a concrete date.