A new The Duskbloods leak appears to have revealed 14 playable Bloodsworn ahead of FromSoftware’s first public network test.
The leaked roster lines up surprisingly well with Hidetaka Miyazaki’s earlier confirmation that the game would feature more than a dozen named characters, each with unique weapons, abilities, and room for customization.
Developer: FromSoftware
Director: Hidetaka Miyazaki
Genre: PvPvE multiplayer action
Players: Up to 8 online
Platform: Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive
Release: 2026
Network Test: August 21-24, 2026
We are only days away from the first large-scale The Duskbloods Network Test, and FromSoftware may have just had one of its biggest surprises spoiled early.
According to a report from Insider Gaming, data connected to the upcoming test has exposed 14 names and descriptions for playable character archetypes. The list ranges from executioners carrying enormous blades to flying spear users, poison-focused fighters, shadow manipulators, and a mysterious creature capable of imitating techniques from other bloodlines.
There is an important distinction, however. Although the leak describes these entries as “classes,” FromSoftware’s official terminology suggests they are better understood as individual Bloodsworn characters. Miyazaki previously confirmed that each selectable fighter is a named individual with a unique identity, appearance, weapon set, and abilities.
14 The Duskbloods Characters Reportedly Leaked
Insider Gaming reports that a data server update ahead of the Network Test revealed the following 14 Bloodsworn.
If authentic, this roster suggests FromSoftware is going much further than simply giving each character a different starting weapon.
Several of the leaked abilities sound designed around radically different ways of controlling a match. Ulan may specialize in movement and area denial, Isabel in control and draining, Gillian in heavy melee pressure, while Randolph appears to combine flight with ranged and close-range aggression.
Are These Really Classes?
Probably not in the traditional Dark Souls sense.
This is where the leak becomes especially interesting, because Miyazaki had already given us a surprisingly precise clue about the roster.
In Nintendo’s official Creator’s Voice interview, he confirmed that The Duskbloods contains more than a dozen selectable characters. Each one is a specific named individual rather than a blank class template.
Players will still be able to customize them, but their basic identity, appearance, weapons, and special abilities are predefined.
That makes The Duskbloods closer in structure to Elden Ring Nightreign’s hero roster than to selecting Knight, Warrior, or Sorcerer at the start of a traditional Souls RPG.
The difference is that The Duskbloods seems to push character identity much further. The leaked descriptions contain personal histories, organizations, diseases, mutations, and relationships that may become part of the game’s wider narrative system.
The Duskbloods Network Test Starts This Week
The timing of the leak is not accidental.
The first The Duskbloods Network Test runs from August 21 through August 24 on Nintendo Switch 2. Selected players were given access to download the test client beginning August 18, which likely explains why new game data is now circulating.
The application period is already closed. FromSoftware selected participants based on application order, and a Nintendo Switch 2 plus an active Nintendo Switch Online membership are required.
FromSoftware says the test is intended to evaluate server load, multiplayer behavior, and game balance with up to eight people participating in each match.
How The Duskbloods Actually Plays
The Duskbloods is an online PvPvE action game for up to eight players.
You play as one of the Bloodsworn, supernatural beings who have surpassed normal human limitations through special blood. They are vampire-inspired, although Miyazaki has stressed that FromSoftware is focusing more on the romantic mythology surrounding blood and vampirism than traditional monsters.
The characters are considerably more mobile than typical Souls protagonists. FromSoftware has confirmed:
- High-speed sprinting
- Large jumps and double jumps
- Unique weapons and supernatural techniques
- A ranged attack option for every character
- Character-specific combat abilities
- Summonable entities that can assist during battles
Matches begin from a hub where players select and customize a Bloodsworn before entering multiplayer. After the match, players return to the hub with rewards that can be used for further customization.
Winning or losing does not appear to be the only source of progression. Miyazaki has said players will generally receive something after a match even if they are not the overall winner.
Winning Is About More Than Killing the Other Seven Players
This may be the system that separates The Duskbloods most clearly from a conventional battle royale.
The default match can end with a single survivor, but Victory Points ultimately determine results, and direct PvP is only one way to earn them.
Players can adopt opportunistic strategies, avoid fights, complete separate objectives, or react to match events. In certain circumstances, the victory condition can even switch toward defeating a powerful PvE boss.
Temporary alliances are therefore part of the design rather than an accident.
A player helping you kill a monster in one minute could become your biggest threat in the next.
Special events can also change the battlefield, introduce enemies, create bonus objectives, and modify rewards. Miyazaki’s example was the giant stone face seen floating in the sky in early footage, which can alter both the environment and what players have reason to pursue.
Roles, Rivals, Companions, and Blood Customization
The Duskbloods also has an unusual role-playing system layered on top of its multiplayer structure.
Characters can be modified through their blood history and fate. According to Miyazaki, this affects abilities and appearance, but can also influence personality traits, roles in the world, and relationships with other characters.
Two examples have already been officially explained:
- Destined Rivals assigns another player as your personal rival and rewards you for hunting them down.
- Destined Companion encourages you to find a specific player and form a bond with them for a special reward.
These personal goals exist separately from the main match objective.
That means two players in the same lobby may technically be playing different games. One could be focused on collecting Victory Points, another on hunting a rival, while two more temporarily cooperate against a boss.
If the leaked 14-character roster is accurate, combining those roles with highly specialized Bloodsworn could create far more unpredictable matches than the simple “eight players enter, one survives” description initially suggested.
The Duskbloods Does Not Have One Fixed Time Period
The Bloodsworn are summoned to compete for First Blood during an event called the Twilight of Humanity.
The unusual part is that this can happen across different eras and locations.
Miyazaki has confirmed that The Duskbloods does not take place in one fixed historical period. Some maps have Gothic and Victorian influences, while others move closer to the end of the early modern period. Firearms exist alongside supernatural weapons, trains appear in the environments, and characters can have technology that looks surprisingly advanced next to the gothic architecture.
Blood itself is also more than a resource. FromSoftware describes it as a theme connecting history, inherited power, fate, and the characters who have transcended normal humanity.
For more games coming to Nintendo’s new hardware, see our Nintendo Direct June 2026 recap.
The Duskbloods Release Date and Platforms
The Duskbloods is still officially scheduled for 2026.
Neither Nintendo nor FromSoftware has announced an exact release date yet.
The game remains exclusive to Nintendo Switch 2. No PC, PlayStation 5, or Xbox Series X|S version has been announced.
Nintendo currently lists support for TV, tabletop, and handheld modes, with online sessions supporting between one and eight players. Nintendo Switch Online is required for online play.
The exclusivity is notable because The Duskbloods is being directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki himself. He explained that the project originally began as a smaller Nintendo Switch concept before Nintendo approached FromSoftware about Switch 2, allowing the studio to expand its online ambitions.
The title is also featured in our most anticipated games of 2026.
More FromSoftware Games on G2A.COM
The Duskbloods does not currently have a comparable active marketplace offer to feature here, but several of FromSoftware’s other action games are available on G2A.COM.
Looking for another FromSoftware challenge?
G2A Plus Premium can provide better prices on eligible marketplace offers, Plus Points for future purchases, gaming rewards, a monthly free game, and additional member benefits.
More FromSoftware and Switch 2 on G2A News
- Nintendo Direct June 2026 Recap
- Most Anticipated Games of 2026
- Elden Ring: Nightreign’s Duo Mode and Multiplayer Updates
- Nintendo Switch 2 Hardware Changes in Europe
Sources and Verification
The leaked roster in this article is based on Insider Gaming’s August 18 report and should be treated as unconfirmed. Gameplay structure, player count, Bloodsworn design, Victory Points, character customization, roles, setting, platform, and release window are based on official information from Nintendo and FromSoftware.
- Insider Gaming – The Duskbloods Leak Reveals 14 Character Classes
- Nintendo – Creator’s Voice: The Duskbloods
- Nintendo – The Duskbloods Official Store Page
- The Duskbloods Official Network Test Website
- FromSoftware – The Duskbloods Announcement
The Duskbloods FAQ
How Many Playable Characters Are in The Duskbloods?
FromSoftware has officially confirmed that there are more than a dozen selectable Bloodsworn. A recent leak reportedly lists 14 characters, but FromSoftware has not confirmed whether that represents the full launch roster.
What Are the 14 Leaked The Duskbloods Classes?
The leaked list includes Blood-Eater, Guillotine, Foul-Rot, Nail-Pierced, Coffin-Bearer, Thread-Torn, Mud-Treader, Candle-Snuffer, Gut-Rinner, Gazer-of-Flesh, Ash-Crown, Rust-Gospel, Dusk-Silt, and First-Shard.
Is The Duskbloods Like Elden Ring Nightreign?
There are similarities, including predefined playable characters and an online focus, but The Duskbloods is built around up to eight-player PvPvE matches where temporary alliances, PvP, bosses, Victory Points, events, and personal objectives all interact.
Is The Duskbloods a Battle Royale?
Not exactly. Being the last player standing can be a victory condition, but matches also use Victory Points, PvE objectives, special events, personal goals, and situations where players may need to cooperate against bosses.
When Is The Duskbloods Network Test?
The first Network Test runs from August 21 through August 24, 2026. Applications have already closed and participation is limited to selected Nintendo Switch 2 owners with Nintendo Switch Online.
When Does The Duskbloods Release?
The Duskbloods is officially scheduled for 2026, but FromSoftware and Nintendo have not announced an exact release date.
Is The Duskbloods Coming to PS5, Xbox, or PC?
No versions for those platforms have been announced. The Duskbloods is currently a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive.
Fourteen Bloodsworn, and None of Them Look Normal
If the leak is accurate, The Duskbloods is shaping up to have a far stranger playable roster than its initial reveal suggested.
The important part is not simply that there may be 14 characters. It is how different their abilities appear to be. Poison trails, flight, shadows, transformation, blood manipulation, heavy weapons, self-buffs, and copied abilities could turn each Bloodsworn into a completely different problem for the other seven players.
And we should not have to wait long to find out how accurate the leak is.
The first Network Test begins August 21. Once players enter FromSoftware’s PvPvE experiment for themselves, we should finally get a much clearer picture of which Bloodsworn are real, how their abilities work, and whether 14 is the full roster or only the beginning.