Featured Image Credit: FromSoftware
Topics: Bloodborne, Fromsoftware, Nintendo, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch
Topics: Bloodborne, Fromsoftware, Nintendo, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch
FromSoftware is treating its fans to a new game that looks an awful lot like Bloodborne in 2026-- but don’t get too hyped, because this one is going to be a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive.
Or, at least… that’s what we’re currently being led to believe.
FromSoftware decided to surprise us all (and temporarily send Bloodborne fans’ heart rates into the stratosphere) when they released the first trailer for their new PvPvE action RPG, The Duskbloods, during April’s Nintendo Direct presentation this year.
When the trailer popped up during the livestream, the first couple of minutes had every Bloodborne fan certain that this was it.
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All the signs were there: a disembodied British woman waffling about blood, a creepy shot of the moon in the background, a Victorian-esque setting, dudes hitting weird poses that looked an awful lot like the Make Contact gesture.
“Finally,” we collectively cried, “they’re actually, finally making Bloodborne 2!”
Then, as the trailer came to a close, we were all suddenly left scratching our collective heads. What the hell is a “Duskblood”? Wait, is this game multiplayer co-op? Oh my god, did that say it’s a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive?!
Then, more information regarding the game dropped almost immediately after the trailer. A Nintendo-published “Creators Voice” post with the legend Hidetaka Miyazaki himself was the first nail in the coffin for some, as Miyazaki explained that The Duskbloods was actually a PvPvE multiplayer Soulslike... like some weird, Frankenstein’d mix between Bloodborne and Elden Ring Nightreign.
Depending on who you ask, FromSoftware fans are either still ridiculously excited for the game or they’re no longer too keen on it following the announcement that it will be a multiplayer-focused title.
However, the main sticking point for the majority of the fanbase is The Duskbloods’ Nintendo Switch 2 exclusivity.
I honestly think that hundreds of thousands of people are going to end up buying a Nintendo Switch 2 just to play this game, but just as many FromSoftware fans (if not more) have stated that they can’t justify buying a new console just for one exclusive. Pretty understandable in this day and age.
But that leads us neatly to the next hotly debated topic among the fanbase: will The Duskbloods be a permanent Switch 2 exclusive, or just a timed-exclusive?
As one fan pointed out over on the r/fromsoftware subreddit, Nintendo don’t own the IP rights to The Duskbloods. The IP itself actually belongs to FromSoftware.
In fact, Nintendo aren’t even publishing the game in Japan. While Nintendo is taking over the publishing reins in every other territory, FromSoftware will be the one publishing The Duskbloods in Japan.
So, theoretically, does this mean that FromSoftware could choose to port the game to other platforms at a later date? I’m no lawyer, but it would seem that they’d be well within their rights to do so.
But will they? Probably not.
Look, I hate to be the party pooper, but Miyazaki has spoken at length during the Creators Voice interviews on Nintendo’s website about how The Duskbloods has been a collaborative effort with Nintendo since day one.
In fact, this game has been in the works for so long that it originally started out as a Nintendo Switch game (by which I mean, FromSoftware was already working on the game before the Nintendo Switch 2 had even been announced internally).
This is all a roundabout way of saying that, while FromSoftware seemingly could port the game to other platforms if they wanted, I think there’s a sort of unwritten gentleman’s agreement that The Duskbloods will remain a Switch 2 exclusive indefinitely.
Sorry, PlayStation fans.