10 January 2026

What to Expect from Elden Ring Developer FromSoftware in 2026

By newsgame

2025 was a relatively slow year for Elden Ring, Dark Souls developer FromSoftware. The famed Japanese studio released one game, Elden Ring Nightreign (followed by The Forsaken Hollows expansion in December), and while it reviewed well, it is broadly considered a smaller, safer project. Some have even thought of it as something of a stopgap release for FromSoft, considering its more limited scope and modest $40 price tag.

Suffice to say that 2026 will be more significant for the company, in one way or the other. Of course, FromSoftware is launching another multiplayer-focused game, The Duskbloods, at some point this year, which should be exciting, but there’s reason to believe that this isn’t the only thing in the studio’s pipeline. For one thing, FromSoft is known to have several projects in development at any given time (that’s how the company managed to release the massive Elden Ring just three years after Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice), but there are other indicators as well. Indeed, while FromSoftware has a reputation for doing the unexpected in spite of its prolific release schedule, there’s some space for us to make educated guesses about the developer’s 2026.

The Duskbloods Will Release at Some Point in 2026

Neither FromSoft nor Nintendo has locked in a specific release date for it yet, but The Duskbloods is still slated for a 2026 launch. The game, which is multiplayer-oriented like Elden Ring Nightreign, will present a new IP for players to sink their teeth into: despite The Duskbloods‘ obvious similarities to Bloodborne, the two are not connected in any direct way. In that same vein, Duskbloods‘ PvPvE multiplayer format is fundamentally different from Nightreign‘s cooperative roguelike structure, the former being more match-focused and competitive.

All of these signs, in addition to reports that The Duskbloods has been in development since before Sekiro‘s launch, seem to indicate that Duskbloods will be a departure from studio tradition in more ways than one. The game’s long incubation is especially illuminating, as it suggests that Duskbloods‘ fundamental design has likely not been informed by Sekiro, Elden Ring, Armored Core 6, or Elden Ring Nightreign. Hopefully, these factors will result in The Duskbloods being a breath of fresh air and not an adulteration of studio values.

Elden Ring Nightreign Will Probably Get More DLC This Year

Elden Ring Nightreign already got paid DLC in the form of The Forsaken Hollows, but this is unlikely to be the last expansion for the co-op roguelike. Forsaken Hollows was only $15 USD, and the Nightreign base game is just $40: it’s hard to believe that any company, let alone such a prestigious studio, would sell a AAA, multiplayer, quasi-live-service game for only $40 and then only release one $15 DLC. From a business perspective, it would make much more sense to continue to release smaller expansions over time to offset the lower cost of entry.

At the very least, it seems probable that the co-op PvE roguelike will receive some sort of continued support, perhaps unpaid. FromSoftware has added new features and balance adjustments to Elden Ring Nightreign, so there’s definitely a precedent for free in-game content. More importantly, continued content, for better or worse, is basically a must-have for any sort of multiplayer game in the modern age: Nightreign will probably need to keep the drip-feed going, and FromSoft will more than likely learn from the strengths and weaknesses of The Forsaken Hollows, incorporating those lessons into future expansions.

Unannounced FromSoftware Project ‘FMC’ Reportedly in the Works

Here we have the most vague but also, potentially, the most interesting FromSoft development of 2026. According to an MP1ST report in July 2025, FromSoftware is “deep into development” on a project internally codenamed “FMC.” As the FMC article points out, FromSoftware often uses initials as codenames, and these initials may not actually correlate to the project’s actual title. For instance, Dark Souls 3 was codenamed FDP during development.

Interestingly, the only FromSoftware IPs whose internal codes begin with F are Armored Core and Dark Souls—MP1ST has speculated that this might mean that FMC is a Dark Souls 3 remaster, or perhaps a new entry in the series entirely. Under this theory, FMC could also be an Armored Core game, but that seems a little unlikely since Armored Core 6 only released in 2023. Still, anything is possible.

As previously mentioned, FromSoftware often works on several projects at once, so it’s likely that the studio is cooking up more than just The Duskbloods at the moment. Adding further credence to this idea are statements made by studio director Hidetaka Miyazaki in late 2024: he stated that FromSoftware was working on “multiple projects… across a variety of genres.” This was before Duskbloods‘ reveal and Nightreign‘s launch, but his phrasing seems to indicate more projects than just those two. Whether FMC is one of these mystery games remains to be seen, but it’s easy to believe that FromSoftware has cards it hasn’t shown yet. Hopefully, we will learn more about the studio’s ongoing ambitions later this year.