In a year or two's time, we'll no doubt be writing again - this time based on the studio's official statement - that The Duskbloods has been the most complex and turbulent development in FromSoftware's recent history. Major delays, a lack of communication... the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive multiplayer Souls-like is taking its sweet time, and even today we still don't have a firm release date to cling to. But it can't be far off, because the first real gameplay footage of the game has already been leaked.
In a slip-up where a media outlet beat the official embargo by a few hours, a user on the Chinese social media platform Bilibili got hold of the gameplay footage - which had been published by mistake - before the outlet took the video down, and it is now spreading like wildfire across the internet.
Naturally, we're not going to publish the video ourselves, but we will point out that, this time, the delay for The Duskbloods seems to have been worth it.
The footage shows a frenetic battle in a combat arena where the three players who have survived the trials of the lower level (somewhat in the style of Elden Ring: NightReign) face off in a three-way duel to claim outright victory. In it, we see not only the use of various melee weapons, but also the submachine gun attached to the vampire character's arm, the two-handed axe (and some impressive aerial combos), as well as summons, transformations and different types of magic. All at a frenetic pace and without any freezes or frame skips (remember, this will run on Nintendo Switch 2).
Although we don't yet have anything else to show you about The Duskbloods, FromSoftware remains committed to releasing the game this year. We hope to find out more next week during Gamescom.
Are you looking forward to playing The Duskbloods?