DNF Duel open beta scheduled for this weekend on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5
Nexon is hosting an open beta test for its upcoming fighting game based on their MMO Dungeon Fighter Online. The DNF Duel open beta will take place this weekend on both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
Developed by Neople, Arc System Works, and Eighting, DNF Duel takes classes from Nexon’s MMO and puts them in a fighting game. Originally announced last year, the companies remained silent on progress for the game until this past November, where they started dropping many regular trailers and updates for the game. (Read: Nexon finally releases new DNF Duel trailer)
The recent announcement of the open beta came alongside the new trailer for the Hitman class, which you can see below.
The beta will be open from 7:00 AM Philippine time on Saturday, Dec. 18, and run all the way through 10:00 PM on Monday, Dec. 20.
The DNF Duel open beta isn’t the only fighting game beta test taking place this weekend. SNK will also be hosting the second open beta test for the King of Fighters XV this weekend. KoF XV‘s second open beta will take place from 11:00 AM on Saturday, Dec. 18, and run through 10:00 PM on Monday, Dec. 20.
SNK announced the open beta with a trailer during the recently concluded Game Awards.
Both the KoFXV and DNF Duel open beta tests are the latest examples of fighting games undergoing online beta testing on console. Earlier this year, Arc System Works also hosted two open beta tests for Guilty Gear Strive, prior to the game’s launch in June.
Online open beta tests for fighting games used to be rare. But it seems that the challenges of the ongoing pandemic, which have put a stop to the usual offline competitions for fighting games, have forced publishers and developers to give more focus to working online play. (Read: Fighting in the time of COVID: the problems of online play and how the community has adapted)
In addition, many already released fighting games have gotten updates meant to rework their online components, adding in modern rollback netcode. The most recent examples of these include Arc System Works’ BlazBlue: Central Fiction and BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle as well as SNK’s The King of Fighters ’98 Ultimate Match: Final Edition.
With all these efforts to improve online play for fighting games, the future of the genre is looking bright.
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