The Duskbloods Network Test Registration Opens July 22, Here Is How to Get In

We finally have a date for the question every FromSoftware fan has been asking since that first reveal: when do we actually get to play The Duskbloods? The answer is August, but only if you move this week. Applications for the closed network test open Wednesday, July 22 at 7:00am PDT and close July 28 at 6:59am PDT, and the test itself runs across five sessions starting August 21, exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2.

Video: Nintendo of America on YouTube

The dates that matter

Sign-ups happen on the official network test website, and this is a lottery, not first come first served. You need a Switch 2, a Nintendo Account and an active Nintendo Switch Online membership to apply. Selected players are announced on August 7 at 6:00am PDT, and the test build goes up on the eShop from August 18 at 6:00am PDT so you can download it ahead of time.

The play windows themselves are short and staggered. In Pacific time there are five sessions: August 21 from 3:00 to 7:00am and again from 7:00 to 11:00pm, August 22 from 11:00am to 3:00pm, and August 23 with the same double shift as the 21st. The odd hours are deliberate, since FromSoftware wants players from every region to land at least one reasonable slot, and the later sessions fall on August 24 in Europe and Japan.

What you will actually play

The Duskbloods is FromSoftware's PvPvE multiplayer game where up to eight players, each controlling one of the superhuman Bloodsworn, fight each other and the world in the same match. The test covers only a limited slice of the full game, and the studio is upfront that this is a genuine stress test: it wants data on server load, how matches hold up across different network environments, and overall balance.

One detail worth knowing before you apply: this test is locked down. Streaming and posting footage are prohibited, and the Switch 2 capture button will be disabled entirely. If you get in, you play it, you do not broadcast it.

Our take

FromSoftware running a network test is usually the last big checkpoint before launch, and Elden Ring followed this exact playbook. The catch here is the barrier to entry. You need the console, a paid subscription and lottery luck, and the sessions are only four hours each. Our advice is simple: set an alarm for July 22, apply on day one, and treat the August 7 announcement as your real answer. With the game still dated only as 2026, this test is also our best clue yet for how close the finish line actually is.