Elden Ring Official Follow-Up Release Narrowed Down In New Update

Elden Ring fans have been wondering what’s next for the iconic Soulsborne franchise, and with FromSoftware infamously tight-lipped on future single-player projects, gamers have been left speculating over whether there will be an official return to the Lands Between. That said, recent rumors have suggested there’s a new single-player title in the works behind the scenes outside FromSoft’s officially announced projects.

While we still don’t have any news on the so-called Project FMC, FromSoft fans have gotten some great news in the past few weeks, with the long-awaited Tarnished Edition getting an official release date this August and The Duskbloods getting an official closed network test later this summer as well.

While quite divisive among FromSoft fans, The Duskbloods officially will be serving as the studio’s first follow-up title beyond the Elden Ring franchise. And while June’s surprise Nintendo Direct didn’t give us a specific release window, the closed network test gives us a good idea of when we can expect the full official launch of The Duskbloods.

While the official The Duskbloods segment at this week’s Nintendo Direct was a bit underwhelming, revealing only a vague glimpse at a new cinematic and a non-specific window for the closed network test this summer, this actually serves as a strong indicator of when we can expect to see the game’s full launch.

By looking at FromSoft’s calendar for Elden Ring Nightreign, the only other major multiplayer-focused title from the studio, we can get a good estimate for The Duskbloods schedule for the rest of the year. However, it’s worth noting that Nightreign was released on other platforms, and The Duskbloods‘ Switch 2 exclusivity may present new challenges that FromSoft didn’t run into for Nightreign. So while it’s a decent gauge for the game’s release, it isn’t a perfect comparison.

That said, here’s how things played out for Elden Ring Nightreign‘s release from when the official closed network testing period was first announced to when the full game launched:

Based on this timeframe for Nightreign and the official closed network test announcement at the June 9 Nintendo Direct, a rough estimate for The Duskbloods schedule in the coming months may look a little something like this:

As mentioned, this estimated release schedule for The Duskbloods is speculative at this point, but also is probably the best ballpark guess we’re going to get before further official information is provided.

One big caveat here is that, with the announcement of the Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake and the fact that Grand Theft Auto 6 will be releasing in November, the official release date may end up getting pushed back even further, and a potential delay to 2027 wouldn’t be all that surprising. Further, it’s unclear just how much the Switch 2 hardware will change FromSoft’s ability to hit their current 2026 release window, as it’s the first major title from the studio for the platform.

All told, while an exact release date isn’t guaranteed for 2026, we can more or less bank on the closed network test sign-ups opening up next month and the actual test period running over a weekend during August. While it would’ve been nice if FromSoft just gave us some exact dates for The Duskbloods closed test period, the above estimates are the best we’re going to get for the time being.

The Duskbloods

Released

2026

Multiplayer

Online Multiplayer

Number of Players

1-8 players