Nightreign Being Hits May Be Concerning

Anyone who’s an active member of the gaming community probably knows what FromSoftware is by now. The Kadokawa-owned Japanese company is basically the progenitor of the Soulslike genre, and it made the massively successful RPG Elden Ring, among many other titles. FromSoftware has been around in the gaming industry for a long time, but it wasn’t until the last decade or so that it started to gain a reputation for creating high-quality Soulslikes. Nowadays, the company is widely regarded as one of the most talented game developers in the industry, to the point that any project it announces is bound to turn heads.

FromSoftware has almost exclusively made single-player games (albeit with limited multiplayer functionality) until now, but its next set of projects are quite different from what the company has usually released. In the last couple of months, FromSoftware has announced two new games: a spin-off of Elden Ring called Elden Ring Nightreign and a new, original IP named The Duskbloods. Surprisingly, both of these titles are multiplayer-focused experiences, standing out from the primarily single-player story modes other FromSoftware games prioritize. Although it’s nice that the company is branching out and trying new things, the potential success of Elden Ring Nightreign and The Duskbloods could open up a Pandora’s box in the long run.

FromSoftware Could Make Fewer Single-Player Games If Nightreign and The Duskbloods are Successful

Elden Ring Nightreign is a Co-Op Roguelike Multiplayer Game

Out of the two upcoming FromSoftware games, Elden Ring Nightreign was the first to be revealed. This game, which was initially teased at The Game Awards 2024, is a co-operative PvE action RPG with roguelike and battle royale elements. In it, players must team up with two other people to take down a series of bosses over three in-game days. Nightreign’s environments are procedurally generated, and they feature gameplay areas that gradually shrink until a boss is defeated. Players can technically play Elden Ring Nightreign by themselves, but it will likely be incredibly challenging to do so, even with boss health scaled. Additionally, with Nightreign built as a multiplayer game, players could miss out on mechanics by playing alone.

The Duskbloods is a PvPvE Action RPG that’s Exclusive to the Switch 2

Despite bearing some surface-level similarities to Elden Ring Nightreign, FromSoftware’s other multiplayer game, The Duskbloods, is a relatively different type of project. This Nintendo Switch 2-exclusive game is a multiplayer-only PvPvE action RPG that can be played by up to 8 players. Players have to choose from a selection of predetermined, hero-like characters with unique skills and abilities, duking it out against other individuals in large maps until only one person remains.

The Duskbloods is being directed by FromSoftware president Hidetaki Miyazaki, the mind behind hit single-player games like Elden Ring, Sekiro, and Dark Souls 3. Miyazaki has never really directed a multiplayer-only project before, so the fact that he decided to make The Duskbloods rather than a traditional Soulslike game is somewhat surprising. Miyazaki explained some of the reasoning behind this decision in an interview with Nintendo. He stated that although he is “not much of a PvE person,” he wanted to create something that’s satisfying even for players like him.

FromSoftware’s Focus on Multiplayer Games Could Lead to Less Single-Player Titles

According to Hidetaka Miyazaki, The Duskbloods’ existence does not necessarily indicate that FromSoftware as a whole has “decided to shift to a more multiplayer-focused direction” with its titles. However, at the end of the day, business is business and money talks. If both it and Elden Ring Nightreign take off and end up making more money for FromSoftware than its single-player experiences, then it won’t be surprising if the company starts creating more multiplayer games in the future. That would be great for fans of The Duskbloods and Elden Ring Nightreign, but for those who aren’t interested in these titles, it wouldn’t be exciting news. Many FromSoftware enthusiasts probably still want the company to deliver more high-quality, single-player Soulslikes games, but the more multiplayer titles that it works on, the fewer of these projects it’ll make. If this hypothetical shift happens, it may upset some gamers in the future.