Update, December 13:
Just in case Elden Ring Nightreign's announcement wasn't exciting enough, we've now been given a clearer idea of exactly when its network test is going to take place, with it confirmed for February next year.
In a new tweet, the official Elden Ring account says that registration for the test will open up on January 10, 2025, so there's less than a month to go. After that, it'll take place the following month, although exact dates haven't been announced at the time of writing.
On the official webpage for the network test, it's described as "a preliminary verification test in which the selected testers play a portion of the game prior to the full game launch." Therefore, it sounds like not everyone who registers will be able to play, and it's clear that those lucky enough will only get a sample of the overall thing. It's a very exciting prospect, though – best of luck to anyone who wants to put their name in the hat.
Original story:
Multiplayer spinoff Elden Ring Nightreign was one of the biggest surprises at The Game Awards 2024, leaving many fans wondering what we're in for when FromSoftware already said it's not making Elden Ring 2. We'll find out sometime in 2025, and we'll get a first look a little before launch thanks to an upcoming network test.
As PC Gamer reports, FromSoftware will invite players to test Nightreign sometime before launch next year, though it's been billed as more of a network test than a beta. FromSoftware historically holds such tests a few months before launch. The Elden Ring test, for instance, rolled out about three months ahead of its release date.
Whether Nightreign follows the same timing remains to be seen, especially when the goal of the test will likely be to put the online system through its paces given the game's co-op focus, but this ought to give us some window into how next year's rollout will look. This being a FromSoftware game and a "survival action" roguelike-infused PvE gauntlet, players are sure to find some absurd weapons and abilities in need of a swing from the nerf bat, too. Elden Ring certainly did in its early days, and also in its later days, and also arguably right now. I'm eyeing one Nightreign character's ability to double any recent damage, including bleed procs. My goodness.
PC Gamer predicts that, based on an in-progress build shown at a preview event, the network test version of Nightreign may be missing some progression and late-game features, which is no surprise. The Elden Ring test was limited to a small bite of Limgrave, which we now know to be roughly None% of the full map. But given the round-based nature of the game, with each hunt of sorts playing out across three days and nights in the same randomized environment, we should get a decent sense of what the overall flow is like, and more importantly, how these wildly quickened combat and traversal systems feel to the touch.
