When is the Elden Ring Nightreign release date? Your time in the Lands Between isn’t over just yet, Tarnished. Or should that be Nightfarer? This standalone multiplayer game is the closest FromSoftware fans can get to an official Elden Ring co-op mode, and we couldn’t be more excited to get stuck into some jolly cooperation.
Elden Ring Nightreign is set in a parallel universe to that of the soulslike game we all know and love, paving the way for new possibilities. This co-op adventure shrinks the boundaries of Elden Ring’s open world to a single area. Limveld is a procedurally generated “open-air dungeon” populated with random enemies, locations, and even surprise cameos pulled from other FromSoftware titles. Gather your fellow Nightfarers and prepare for Elden Ring Nightreign, as we delve into everything we know ahead of the release date.
Elden Ring Nightreign release date estimate
The Elden Ring Nightreign release date is in 2025. Given that the reveal trailer gave no precise date despite its proximity to the confirmed release year, we expect it to arrive in the latter half of 2025.
Elden Ring Nightreign is available on PC via Steam, and on PlayStation 5, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Xbox Series X/S for console users.
The Nightreign network test is due sometime in February. Registration for the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S starts on Friday, January 10, 2025. Sign up on the official site for a chance to play “a portion of the game.” The four character portraits that appear on this sign-up page may well be teasing the four characters available to play during this test.
Elden Ring Nightreign trailers
The official reveal trailer from Elden Ring Nightreign aired during The Game Awards in December 2024. It establishes this alternate version of The Lands Between and its multiplayer focus, as the corruptive force of Night’s Reign engulfs its landscape in blue flame.
This reveal trailer consists almost entirely of gameplay, with several in-engine cutscenes thrown in for good measure. FromSoftware has repurposed many of Elden Ring’s assets for Nightreign to craft an original experience without losing the spirit of the former. It also assures this standalone episode’s speedy development, so we don’t expect to wait too long or suffer any major delays.
Elden Ring Nightreign gameplay
Elden Ring co-op has been the most requested feature in the soulslike game’s community, leaving Elden Ring mods to fill the void. While Nightreign isn’t fully integrated into the base game like the Seamless Co-op mod, it offers the means to experience a multiplayer mode designed by FromSoftware itself. You can team up in a squad of up to three players; it’s technically possible to go it alone but – well, prepare to die, as they say.
Whether alone or grouped up, Nightreign challenges you to outlast three days and nights in Limveld, and this time around, crafting the best Elden Ring builds just won’t cut it. Instead, the key to success lies in the hidden synergies between Nightreign’s eight playable characters and all the weapons and spells at their disposal, adding a new dimension to the single-player game’s core experience. Even failure can unlock new ways to switch up your playstyle and give you a new route to victory.
The Nightlord might be the big bad, but it’s not the only threat to worry about on your runs. True to form, Elden Ring Nightreign is stacked with new bosses – and a few familiar faces. The reprise of Dark Souls 3’s Nameless King will be the most exciting reveal for FromSoftware fans. Considered the most difficult encounter in a FromSoftware title until his dethronement by Melania, this royal traitor returns astride his trusty blue wyvern to hurl lightning and generally be the menace we remember.
Elden Ring Nightreign story
We expect Elden Ring Nightreign’s story to be as obfuscated as Elden Ring before it, though perhaps a bit more lightweight than the lore-heavy beats we followed in Shadow of the Erdtree. The presiding mystery is the identity of Nightreign’s chief antagonist.
The Nightlord isn’t a known entity in Elden Ring, but there are several hints that they could be connected to the Nox. This ancient race was banished underground after committing high treason against the Greater Will. The flavor text of the Nox Swordstress Crown and Night Maiden Twin Crown reveal they live “in eternal anticipation of their liege. Of the coming age of the stars. And their Lord of Night.” Perhaps this Lord of Night and Nightreign’s Nightlord are one and the same.
The Age of Stars is also the official name of one of the Elden Ring endings, which sees you leave the Lands Between behind as Ranni’s “eternal” consort among the stars. There’s no agreed ‘canon’ ending in Elden Ring, but Nightreign’s parallel universe could be one in which this ending has been achieved. In this respect, the Nightlord could well be the Tarnished helping Ranni bring about the Age of Stars and usher in the “thousand year voyage under the wisdom of the Moon.”
This theory might seem a bit far-fetched, but FromSoftware has precedence for pitting players against their past selves. Dark Souls 3 culminates in the player going up against all the champions who have linked the First Flame, which amounts to anyone who completed Dark Souls 1.
Dark Souls 3’s Fire Keeper also appears in the reveal trailer, urging the Nighfarer that “tragedy must be averted, and for that, I need your help.” This has massive implications for Elden Ring’s connection to the Dark Souls series. Could FromSoftware be hinting that their soulslikes are all contained in a single multiverse? That remains to be seen, but the sight of the Fire Keeper in the Roundtable Hold is one to remember.
We’ll be separating theory from fact in the run-up to the Elden Ring Nightreign release date, so check back regularly for all the latest news. In the meantime, check out all the co-op games to while away the hours with pals ahead of launch. Alternatively, our Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree review reflects on our time with the base game’s DLC.