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It has been a tense few months for Nintendo fans who also happen to be masochistic lore-hunters. With the recent Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase coming and going without a single mention of the two highly anticipated FromSoftware projects headed to the Switch 2, speculation began to run rampant. Were the games delayed again? Was the Elden Ring port quietly cancelled?
According to a newly released financial report from Kadokawa Corporation—the parent company of FromSoftware—the silence from the development team doesn't indicate disaster. In fact, both The Duskbloods and Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition are very much alive and still scheduled to arrive before the end of the year.
A Vague but Welcome Update
Buried deep within the Kadokawa Q3 Fiscal Year 2026 earnings report is a small but significant update for the gaming community. While the bulk of the document addresses declining operating profits compared to the previous fiscal year, a specific section dedicated to the company's gaming pipeline confirms the status of the two Switch 2 exclusives.
The report explicitly states that both The Duskbloods and Elden Ring Tarnished Edition are "both slated for 2026 release."
However, for those hoping for a concrete release date to mark on their calendars, the news remains frustratingly vague. In an accompanying FAQ section of the earnings report, Kadokawa addressed investor questions regarding the titles but declined to narrow down the arrival times further. The company also held back on offering specific sales projections, though analysts suggest that launching on Nintendo’s highly anticipated handheld could provide a significant financial boost for both projects.
You can view the official investor document detailing the company's forecasts here.
The Duskbloods: A Gothic Mystery
First revealed in April 2025, The Duskbloods represents a intriguing departure for the studio known for Dark Souls and Bloodborne. Described as a gothic-themed Switch 2 exclusive, the title shifts away from the solitary, bleak exploration of typical "Souls-like" adventures in favor of an 8-player online action game that blends PvP and PvE elements.
Despite the initial trailer dropping nearly a year ago, many details surrounding the project remain cloudy. Fans are desperate to know how the "blood" mechanics work, how deep the character customization goes, and how the narrative will be delivered in a multiplayer-focused environment. The absence of the game from the February 5th Nintendo Direct was particularly stinging for fans, as that showcase focused heavily on third-party titles. With rumors swirling of another Direct broadcast slated for late February or March, many are hoping FromSoftware is simply saving its reveal for a bigger stage.
Might Elden Ring Tarnished Edition Still Be Cancelled?
The road to the Switch 2 for Elden Ring has been bumpier than the path to Caelid.
Initially slated for a 2025 debut alongside the new console, the Tarnished Edition—which bundles the base game with the critically acclaimed Shadow of the Erdtree expansion—ran into trouble almost immediately. Early hands-on impressions from Gamescom raised significant doubts about the game's performance. Attendees noted frame rate instability and visual compromises that suggested the developers were struggling to optimize the massive open-world title for Nintendo's hardware.
By October, Nintendo and FromSoftware confirmed that the title had been pushed back to 2026 to allow for additional polish.
While the Switch 2 specs have proven capable of welcoming other resource-intensive titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Assassin's Creed Shadows, transitioning Elden Ring presents unique challenges. Notably, the Elden Ring engine does not support DLSS upscaling technology, which many other developers are utilizing to squeeze high-fidelity visuals out of the portable console. This technical hurdle may be a primary factor in the extended development time.
However, the new Kadokawa earnings report offers a lifeline to worried fans. It confirms that, at least for now, the Tarnished Edition hasn’t met the same fate as the indefinitely delayed Borderlands 4. The project is still moving forward.
What’s Next for FromSoftware on Switch 2?
With a 2026 release window now officially locked in by the parent company, the clock is ticking for the marketing machines to start spinning up. The community is eager to see whether the Elden Ring port can overcome its performance hiccups and whether The Duskbloods can capture the magic of the studio's single-player games in a multiplayer format.
For now, fans are left to re-watch the initial reveal trailers and wait for the next Nintendo presentation. You can revisit the February Nintendo Direct that didn't feature FromSoftware here to see what else is coming to the ecosystem, but for updates on The Duskbloods and the fate of the Tarnished, it appears we'll have to wait just a little longer.
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| The Duskbloods and Elden Ring Switch 2 in Kadokawa earnings report FAQ |
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| The Duskbloods and Elden Ring Switch 2 in Kadokawa earnings report |