{"id":2110812,"date":"2026-08-25T11:31:43","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T08:31:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2110812"},"modified":"2026-08-25T11:31:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T08:31:43","slug":"despite-being-a-switch-2-exclusive-the-duskbloods-closed-network-test-had-more-applications-than-elden-ring-nightreign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2110812","title":{"rendered":"Despite being a Switch 2 exclusive, The Duskbloods closed network test had more applications than Elden Ring Nightreign"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Despite being a Switch 2 exclusive, The Duskbloods closed network test had more applications than Elden Ring Nightreign<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Nightlords.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/The-Duskbloods-%E2%80%93-Nintendo-Direct-_-Nintendo-Switch-2-1-46-screenshot.png?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"The Duskbloods screenshot showing character in metallic suit in a swamp\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"The-Duskbloods-%E2%80%93-Nintendo-Direct-_-Nintendo-Switch-2-1-46-screenshot.png\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>FromSoftware<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Sherif Saed avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/IMG_1950_Uy1XomJ.JPG?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1638\" height=\"1346\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Sherif Saed avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"IMG_1950_Uy1XomJ.JPG\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1638\" height=\"1346\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/sherif-saed\">Sherif Saed<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Senior Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\n<p>Published on   <time datetime=\"2026-08-25T11:31:43+00:00\" data-auto-time-zone=\"true\" data-year=\"numeric\" data-month=\"short\" data-day=\"numeric\" data-hour=\"numeric\" data-minute=\"numeric\">Aug. 25, 2026, 11:31 a.m.<\/time>\n              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-duskbloods-closed-network-test-more-applications-nightreign?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          7 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"85cf7af6-b6e0-410f-86f2-7f78a0f46caf\" data-name=\"Elden Ring: Nightreign\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Elden Ring: Nightreign\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Elden Ring: Nightreign\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Elden Ring: Nightreign\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Elden Ring: Nightreign\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Elden Ring: Nightreign\" title=\"Follow Elden Ring: Nightreign\"><br \/>\n  Follow Elden Ring: Nightreign<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>The Duskbloods is already looking like it&#8217;s going to be a very popular game. Developer FromSoftware revealed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-duskbloods-check-network-test-access\">the game&#8217;s network test, which finished yesterday<\/a>, attracted more player applications than those for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/elden-ring-nightreign\">Elden Ring Nightreign<\/a>, despite it only being available for one platform: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/platforms\/switch-2\">Switch 2<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Game producer Yasuhiro Kitao revealed the news during <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/GkjnUilN2Sw?t=4555s\">a Famitsu livestream<\/a> (via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gamesradar.com\/games\/action\/the-duskbloods-closed-network-test-had-more-applicants-than-elden-ring-nightreign-despite-being-a-switch-2-exclusive-fromsoftware-lead-reveals\/\">GamesRadar<\/a>), and said the team was surprised to see that response.<\/p>\n<p>As with Nightreign&#8217;s network test, The Duskbloods&#8217; network test <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-duskbloods-closed-playtest-dates\">required signing up ahead of time<\/a>. Not all players who signed up were guaranteed an invite, though, so it&#8217;s impressive many decided to do it for only a chance to play the game early<\/p>\n<p>Of course, compared to Nightreign, The Duskbloods&#8217; potential player base is far smaller, as the game is a Switch 2 exclusive. Though <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/us-hardware-sales-may-2026-ps5-xbox-switch\">Nintendo&#8217;s hybrid console has been breaking sales records<\/a>, its installed base is significantly smaller than PS5 and Xbox Series X\/S combined, the two platforms Nightreign&#8217;s test ran on. Nightreign also released on PC, PS4 and Xbox One, making for an even larger potential audience.<\/p>\n<p>That was something Kitao brought up during the livestream, saying that the studio wonders if The Duskbloods will have more day-one players based on player interest in the test, despite the Switch 2&#8217;s smaller installed base.<\/p>\n<p>The Duskbloods&#8217; network test hasn&#8217;t been without problems, though. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-duskbloods-network-test-connection-problems-fromsoftware\">Its first session ended abruptly following major connectivity issues<\/a>. Later sessions seemingly ran more smoothly, however. The Duskbloods still does not have a release date, even if, briefly , it looked like it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-duskbloods-release-date-nintendo-denied\">would be released 24th September<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>The Duskbloods is already looking like it&#8217;s going to be a very popular game. Developer FromSoftware revealed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-duskbloods-check-network-test-access\">the game&#8217;s network test, which finished yesterday<\/a>, attracted more player applications than those for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/elden-ring-nightreign\">Elden Ring Nightreign<\/a>, despite it only being available for one platform: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/platforms\/switch-2\">Switch 2<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Game producer Yasuhiro Kitao revealed the news during <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/GkjnUilN2Sw?t=4555s\">a Famitsu livestream<\/a> (via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gamesradar.com\/games\/action\/the-duskbloods-closed-network-test-had-more-applicants-than-elden-ring-nightreign-despite-being-a-switch-2-exclusive-fromsoftware-lead-reveals\/\">GamesRadar<\/a>), and said the team was surprised to see that response.<\/p>\n<p>As with Nightreign&#8217;s network test, The Duskbloods&#8217; network test <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-duskbloods-closed-playtest-dates\">required signing up ahead of time<\/a>. Not all players who signed up were guaranteed an invite, though, so it&#8217;s impressive many decided to do it for only a chance to play the game early<\/p>\n<p>Of course, compared to Nightreign, The Duskbloods&#8217; potential player base is far smaller, as the game is a Switch 2 exclusive. Though <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/us-hardware-sales-may-2026-ps5-xbox-switch\">Nintendo&#8217;s hybrid console has been breaking sales records<\/a>, its installed base is significantly smaller than PS5 and Xbox Series X\/S combined, the two platforms Nightreign&#8217;s test ran on. Nightreign also released on PC, PS4 and Xbox One, making for an even larger potential audience.<\/p>\n<p>That was something Kitao brought up during the livestream, saying that the studio wonders if The Duskbloods will have more day-one players based on player interest in the test, despite the Switch 2&#8217;s smaller installed base.<\/p>\n<p>The Duskbloods&#8217; network test hasn&#8217;t been without problems, though. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-duskbloods-network-test-connection-problems-fromsoftware\">Its first session ended abruptly following major connectivity issues<\/a>. Later sessions seemingly ran more smoothly, however. The Duskbloods still does not have a release date, even if, briefly , it looked like it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-duskbloods-release-date-nintendo-denied\">would be released 24th September<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Despite being a Switch 2 exclusive, The Duskbloods closed network test had more applications than Elden Ring Nightreign Nightlords. Image credit: FromSoftware News by Sherif Saed Senior Contributor Published on Aug. 25, 2026, 11:31 a.m. 7 comments Follow Elden Ring: Nightreign The Duskbloods is already looking like it&#8217;s going to be a very [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-2110812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2110812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2110812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2110812\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2110812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2110812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2110812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}