FromSoftware's Duskbloods Will Use Ranked Pools and Veteran Mentorship to Bridge the Skill Gap
Key takeaways
- Skill-based matchmaking will separate high-ranked and new players in The Duskbloods to prevent lopsided matches.
- An Alliance system may let veterans voluntarily pair with newcomers in a mentorship-style arrangement.
- Ranked matchmaking may not be available at launch; FromSoftware is using the August Network Test to finalize systems.
FromSoftware's Switch 2 exclusive The Duskbloods will use skill-based matchmaking to separate rookie players from veterans, director Hidetaka Miyazaki confirmed to IGN on August 23. The ranked system will actively pool highly skilled players together while keeping newer participants in their own bracket, a direct attempt to prevent the one-sided matches that tend to hollow out multiplayer communities as skill gaps widen post-launch.
Miyazaki also outlined reward structures designed to keep less competitive players engaged regardless of their win rate. Story content and character customisation options can be unlocked through general gameplay, not just match victories, giving newcomers a reason to stick around even while their combat skills develop. The intention, Miyazaki explained, is to let players enjoy the world and narrative first, with deeper competitive investment coming naturally if they choose to pursue it.
Beyond separated matchmaking brackets, FromSoftware is exploring more nuanced cross-skill interactions. Miyazaki described an Alliance system where high-ranked players could voluntarily prioritise pairing with newcomers as a mentorship-style arrangement, drawing a direct parallel to the summon sign mechanic in the Dark Souls series and Elden Ring. Rare in-match events could also have higher appearance rates in lobbies that mix long-term players with fresh ones, creating organic incentives for veterans to engage constructively with the broader community rather than staying siloed at the top.
Importantly, Miyazaki was candid that the ranked matchmaking system may not be fully operational at launch. FromSoftware is still observing how experimental mechanics, including the Sigil and Virtue point systems, perform during the current Network Test — which runs in daily phases from August 21 to 24 — before locking down the long-term matchmaking structure. The studio wants to see real player behavior before committing to final designs.
The Duskbloods represents a meaningful creative pivot for a studio best known for punishing single-player experiences. Miyazaki has acknowledged publicly that both The Duskbloods and Elden Ring: Nightreign landing as multiplayer titles simultaneously was coincidental, and that FromSoftware intends to return to single-player games once both projects are complete. How well the studio's matchmaking and community-building ambitions land on a new platform with a new audience will be one of the most closely watched stories in gaming through 2026.
The bigger picture
Skill-based matchmaking has become one of multiplayer gaming's most reliably contentious debates, with Activision's Call of Duty and EA's Apex Legends drawing consistent criticism from established players who argue the system punishes experience and removes casual relief. FromSoftware is walking into that conversation carefully, framing SBMM not as a restriction on skilled players but as a community health tool. The language Miyazaki uses — veterans 'contributing' and newcomers feeling 'accepted' — signals a deliberate effort to shape culture from the system level rather than leaving it to emerge organically, which often means toxically.
The Alliance mentorship angle is where The Duskbloods could genuinely differentiate itself from competitors. Most SBMM implementations simply sort players and leave them there. FromSoftware appears to be building opt-in cross-bracket interactions as a feature rather than a fallback, which aligns neatly with the Soulsborne community's existing culture around cooperative play and knowledge-sharing. If it executes well, this could be a model other studios study — particularly developers launching competitive games on Nintendo platforms, where the demographic skew toward younger and more casual players makes accessibility architecture especially important.
The caveat that ranked systems may arrive post-launch rather than day one is worth watching closely. Games that launch without functional matchmaking infrastructure often struggle to recover community trust once early impressions set in. FromSoftware has credibility from its back catalog, but The Duskbloods is a genre departure on a new platform with a new audience. The Network Test window this weekend is genuinely critical — the data FromSoftware collects now will shape decisions that determine whether the game builds a healthy long-term player base or fragments quickly between an entrenched elite and a frustrated newcomer pool that quietly stops logging in.
We're covering The Duskbloods matchmaking story here at LagPing because it sits at the intersection of two ongoing conversations in gaming: how studios design multiplayer systems for longevity, and whether FromSoftware can successfully translate its reputation into a genre it has rarely touched. Miyazaki speaking openly about systems that are still being tested — essentially confirming the studio is making design decisions in real time — is unusual candor for a company of FromSoftware's stature, and it deserves more than a headline pass. We're also mindful that this is a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, which means the platform's success and The Duskbloods' health are somewhat intertwined in the near term. Whether FromSoftware's community-first matchmaking philosophy holds up under the pressure of a live player base is something we'll be watching as the Network Test results filter through and the studio heads toward launch.
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