Nexon has released the official DNF Duel Nintendo Switch trailer.
The trailer once again puts the spotlight on Spectre, the game’s first DLC character. It also makes it a point to show the game playing on the Nintendo Switch console, but as for now, this is clearly a mockup. Finally, we get to see each of the playable characters featured and using their ‘skills’ on each other.
DNF Duel has a very interesting backstory, unique so far to the fighting game genre, at least until Project L eventually gets released. The game is a spinoff of free-to-play beat-em-up action RPG Dungeon Fighter Online. Dungeon Fighter Online is one of the most successful games to come out of Korea, grossing over $ 18 million as of December 2021. However, most of that success was felt in Korea, Japan, and China. Even though the game has been available in America since 2010, and worldwide since 2015, Dungeon Fighter Online as a game and as a franchise isn’t very well known.
DNF Duel was both intended to leverage the success of the game to a new genre, and to introduce the franchise all over again to a new worldwide audience. Publisher Nexon proved they were quite serious about making a good fighter by having Dungeon Fighter Online developer Neople partner with veteran fighting game studios 8ing and Arc System Works.
Arc System Works may already be familiar to FGC fans, as the studio that makes the Blazblu and Guilty Gear games. 8ing is an even more venerable fighting game studio, having worked on fighters as diverse as Bloody Roar 3 & 4, Fate Unlimited Codes, Tatsunoko vs Capcom, and the Naruto: Clash of Ninja Series.
DNF Duel only released last June 28, 2022, on Windows, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. While the game was critically fairly received, it’s current popularity is in question. SteamDB indicates it reached its peak player count of 12,331 5 months ago, around the launch period. As of right now there are only less than 100 players playing, and around 120 players in the last 24 hours.
If you look at Steam reviews it’s easy to see the reasons for the game’s struggles. The playerbase has plummeted because of the lack of updates, for much needed changes like player rebalancing. With all that in mind, Nexon’s promise of an upcoming Grand Balance Patch was long overdue.
But now the game also needs new platforms to find momentum. If the Steam and PlayStation playerbases are no longer interested in the game, it’s possible that DNF Duel will find success on the Nintendo Switch, in the same way DragonBall FighterZ did. DNF Duel wasn’t exactly made for hardcore gamers, maybe it has just the right elements for Nintendo gamers.
DNF Duel will be releasing to the Nintendo Switch on Spring (roughly March to June) 2023. You can watch the trailer below.
Source: YouTube
