Hidetaka Miyazaki Offers Insight Into Forthcoming FromSoftware Horror, The Duskbloods
Hidetaka Miyazaki, Creative Director behind many FromSoftware hits such as Elden Ring and the Dark Souls series, recently spoke with Nintendo for its Creator’s Voice series. Miyazaki touched on the themes and design aspects of the forthcoming horror, The Duskbloods, due in 2026 on Switch 2.
A trailer for The Duskbloods was shown during the recent Nintendo Direct presentation for the Switch 2, and immediately drew comparisons from gamers with FromSoftware’s other dark fantasy-inspired titles, most notably Bloodborne. Miyazaki clarified how The Duskbloods will differ from other FromSoftware games.
“In addition to creating a PvPvE (Player vs. Player vs. Environment) title, we’ve tried our hand at introducing a lot of new and interesting ideas with The Duskbloods,” he said.
“From superhuman player actions, a free-form combat approach, and gameplay that’s dynamic and dramatic to the romanticized aesthetic of the Bloodsworn, deep character customization and fragmentary storytelling, I think there’s a lot to appreciate and enjoy in this title and I sincerely hope players look forward to it.”
An Unusual Gothic World
In The Duskbloods, players will need to compete against each other, as well as monstrous bosses, to complete overall mission objectives and gain First Blood, the most powerful type of blood that exists in Duskblood’s anachronistic Gothic world.
“The Bloodsworn are summoned to the Twilight of Humanity across a variety of different times and places in a bid to obtain First Blood.”
“Due to this, there is no fixed era or location in which The Duskbloods takes place. There are more traditional Gothic- or Victorian-style maps as well as those depicting the closing years of the early modern period, like the one glimpsed in the trailer with the train running through it.”
Multiplayer Horror
A PvP and PvPvE aspects aren’t something new for FromSoftware, as the studio’s Armored Core 2: Another Age incorporated multiplayer 24 years ago. Released for the PlayStation 2 in 2001, it was also one of the first PS2 games to offer online play.
The Dark Souls series and Elden Ring also incorporate multiplayer. Although it can be possible to fight other players, it’s largely asynchronous: players can jump into someone else’s game at predetermined points or leave ghostly messages.
Bloodborne (2015) allows for more typical PvP multiplayer, but even that requires using certain types of Bells in-game. This is also the closest to PvPvE that FromSoftware has gotten before, as it’s possible to invade another player’s game but also have to deal with the enemies there.
Role-Playing Bloodsworn
Miyazaki explained how the main idea behind The Duskbloods involves player characters called Bloodsworn. Although vampiric in design, in that they’re powered by blood, Miyazaki was also quick to note that they’re distinct enough to stand as separate classes, like in other role-playing games.
“In online play, roles give players special responsibilities and objectives that often lead to unique interactions and relationships between players based on their corresponding roles,” he said.
“For example, if a player possesses the “Destined Rivals” role, another player is designated as their rival, and they are tasked with finding and defeating that player. Doing so counts as achieving a personal goal, separate from the overall victory conditions.”
