DNF Duel Open Beta Announced for PS4 and PS5

Unless you keep a close eye on upcoming fighting games, you might have missed the slew of character trailers that have come out for DNF Duel, based on the wildly popular beat ’em up action RPG known as Dungeon Fighter Online (DFO) or Dungeon & Fighter (DNF). One of its recent trailers not only showed off a new character and teased four more to be revealed, one of which has already been revealed as Dragon Knight, but also listed the dates for its quickly upcoming open beta tests.

It’s possible this might all sound a little familiar. The game was originally announced nearly a year ago with a quick 40-second trailer but then went radio silent. That changed a few weeks ago when they released the official trailer on November 21st. Since then, there has been a new character trailer coming out with an average of a few days in-between from their YouTube channel.

The game is being made with help from its original DNF developers Neople, anime-esque fighting game developers Arc System Works, and the developers who worked on what was likely the most popular fighting game of the last decade, Marvel vs Capcom 3. With such a wide array of talented companies behind it, it’s no wonder that many are excited to get their hands on it.

Some people in the West have remained confused about whether this is a new IP or not. The reason for this is that DNF is nowhere near as popular in the West as it is in Eastern countries. To put it in perspective, the game is one of the most played with over 700 million players in May 2020. At that same time, it was also measured to have grossed over $15 billion in revenue since its release in 2005. To call it a popular and successful game is an understatement.

DNF Duel is looking to translate the action RPG into a 2D fighting game by focusing on specific character classes. There’s a lot we don’t know about the game, including the total character count or if the game will have rollback netcode. Many are hoping since Arc System Works used rollback in Guilty Gear Strive and added it to their recent BlazBlue titles that we may see it here, although that’s likely all up to its publisher, Nexon. Either way we’re sure to continue seeing more about the game, especially with its open beta lasting over this upcoming weekend.