FromSoftware’s The Duskbloods Is a Nintendo Switch 2 Exclusive, But Its Closed Beta Client Is Already Playable on PC, Paving The Way For The Full Game

Following the release of Elden Ring, FromSoftware rejected investors' pressure to focus on safe sequels and began focusing on multiplayer-focused experiences with Elden Ring Nightreign (which came out better than many expected) and the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive The Duskbloods.

While the latter was reportedly only possible thanks to Nintendo, the fact remains that many won't be able to ever experience it, but at least on PC, there's still hope, as the closed beta client is now playable on the platform, paving the way for the full game once it releases in 2027 if the Nintendo Switch 2 hacking scene manages to find other exploits now that the first jailbreak, which allowed the client's dumping, is out of commission.

"A small launcher (Windows and Linux) for running The Duskbloods Network Test on Eglantine-based Switch 2 emulators (Eglantine, Lichii, Eden-style builds) with the online features served by local stand-in servers, either for yourself (offline, loopback only) or for a room of friends," reads the official description of the playDB-CNT project on GitHub.

The Duskbloods being playable on PC with an experimental online mode is definitely the most impressive part of the project, although it requires going through some hoops, which was expected given the nature of the project. "The Online tab has three modes: Just me (offline, as before), Host a room, and Join a room. Everyone who types the same room password is matched together: one friend hosts, the others type the host's address and join," the official description of the online play features reads. "The in-game match connects the emulators directly, and the server has no relay for that. Players need the same home network, a VPN such as ZeroTier (recommended), Tailscale or Radmin VPN, or router port forwards. The Online tab lists the ports."

Regardless of the relative complexity of setting up online play, it's undeniable that having The Duskbloods' closed beta client playable on PC is as big an accomplishment as seeing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time running on PC.

Hopefully, the final game will be available to more than Nintendo Switch 2 players after it launches in some capacity, as the game's lore is as interesting as in every other game by the Japanese studio, and its gameplay attempts to do something new for the developer, taking an approach that is reminiscent of that of Team NINJA in Masocore games like Nioh 3.

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