The Duskbloods Fans Are Losing It Over Zork's "Steam Release"

The Duskbloods Has A Steam Release... It's Just One Of Zork's Emotes Published Aug 23, 2026, 7:14 AM EDT James Lucas is an Executive Editor at TheGamer who has worked in professional journalism since 2018. A Newcastle University graduate with a degree in Journalism, Media, and Culture, they have written hundreds of guides, news stories, and original reports, with bylines in IGN, NME, GaymingMag, and VG247, sourcing interviews with studio heads, legendary industry figures, prominent actors, and more. An expert on FPS games, Soulslikes, RPGs, and survival horror, James has intimate knowledge of a wide variety of titles, providing in-depth coverage and exclusive profiles. Some of the games they have extensively covered include: Half-Life 3, Counter-Strike, Elden Ring, and Fallout. They pride themselves on their consistently thorough research, leveraging nearly a decade of industry experience. You can reach them at James.t@thegamer.com The Duskbloods being a Switch 2 exclusive has been somewhat controversial among diehard FromSoftware fans. I don't really get it — exclusivity is nothing new for the studio. Demon's Souls was a PS3 exclusive. The studio has made several Xbox exclusives in the past, like Meta Wolf Chaos and Shadow Assault: Tenchu. It even has DS, GameCube, and Dreamcast games under its belt. Seriously, look up Frame Gride. And we can't forget Bloodborne. Still, with the network test in full swing (sort of), discourse is burning online, which makes Zork's emote all the more funny. For the unaware, Zork is a little weirdo who kind of looks like Pyro from Team Fortress 2, just in a steampunk suit of armor. In less than a week, he has become the de facto Duskbloods mascot — hitting FromSoft's quota on oddball icons. But the best bit? As many players quickly jumped to point out on X and Reddit, he has an emote called 'Steam Release', which naturally just means letting off steam (geddit? ha) from his armor. But with the whole exclusivity conversation, you can't help but chuckle at The Duskbloods technically having a steam release. "(Official) Duskbloods will have a steam release!!" reads one of these posts, to the tune of over 4,000 upvotes. Over on X, @jellotrooper posted, "they're trolling tf you mean 'steam release' emote on 'zork'," while @cappymoment racked up over 6,000 likes for posting the emote. "Gives The Impression Of Anger" I don't know if the emote is intentional or just a funny coincidence, but either way, it's amazing. Fans are squabbling over The Duskbloods being a Switch 2 exclusive, even arguing that the game really costs $700 because of the console (does that mean Bloodborne was a $450 game?), while there's a Steam Release technically sitting inside of Zork's menu. The description only makes it funnier. "Vent steam from various parts of the diving suit," it reads. "Gives the impression of anger, though the truth of the matter is unclear." Sure sounds like some of the viral posts making the rounds. Though, of course, its exclusivity status could change. Monster Hunter: Rise originally launched as a Switch exclusive in 2021, but was ported to PC the following year, and then subsequently to PlayStation and Xbox in 2023. FromSoft also appears to own the IP, which would leave the ball in its court. Just don't get your hopes up too much, because the entire reason that The Duskbloods is a Switch 2 exclusive to begin with is because Nintendo was "very receptive" to director Hidetaka Miyazaki's idea, which, if you know anything about the history of Demon's Souls (hint hint, Sony's refusal to publish it in the West), must have been a breath of fresh air. Systems Released 2026 Developer(s) FromSoftware Publisher(s) FromSoftware Multiplayer Online Multiplayer Number of Players 1-8 players