Elden Ring Nightreign: Everything we know so far

Elden Ring Nightreign is unlike anything we’ve ever seen from developer FromSoftware. The studio announced its spin-off Elden Ring at the Game Awards, a standalone adventure based on three-player online co-op mode. You’ll delve into a universe parallel to the core universe of Elden Ring and venture into Limveld – a fusion of some of Limgrave’s environments and areas. In this new land, you must work together with two of your friends to survive the day by looting and leveling up as you explore the area. The night brings a shrinking map and a powerful boss encounter – make it to the third day and you’ll be able to take on the Nightlord and earn powerful relics to power up your next session.

It’s a completely different take on Elden Ring and one we’re keen to learn more about. FromSoftware has already proven that co-op can work in this world, but Elden Ring Nightreign will represent a massive expansion of the concept. The character creator is gone, as is the tinier progression. Instead, Nightreign is based on rapid collaboration, intelligent build expansion, and bringing together diverse skills to overcome massive challenges within a deadline. Elden Ring Nightreign is one of the most anticipated games of 2025 and below is everything we know about it so far.

Elden Ring Nightreign release date is confirmed in 2025

Elden Ring Nightreign screenshot showing a character preparing for the Roundtable Hold — (Image credit: FromSoftware)

FromSoftware has confirmed that Elden Ring Nightreign will release in 2025, although the developer has not yet given a firm release date for the experience. There are no guesses on this either, as Elden Ring was released in spring 2022 and its only expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, was released in summer 2024. The lack of a solid date is a little frustrating, but at least we know that we can look forward to another new game in 2025.

Elden Ring Nightreign platforms confirmed

Elden Ring Nightreign screenshot showing night rain creeping across the map as night falls — (Image credit: FromSoftware)

Elden Ring Nightreign is scheduled to release in 2025 on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X and Xbox One. The good news is that you don’t need to own a copy of Elden Ring to access this cooperative experience with your friends, as it is a standalone adventure. It is currently unknown if full cross-platform play will be supported, although this is unexpected as this was not available in the original Elden Ring experience (which only supported co-op within each publisher’s platform ecosystem).

Elden Ring Nightreign trailer

What is Elden Ring Nightreign?

Elden Ring Nightreign screenshot showing three players fighting an explosive creature — (Image credit: FromSoftware)

Elden Ring Nightreign is a three-player co-op game, a standalone spin-off adventure set in a universe parallel to the events of Elden Ring. You meet up with two friends in the Roundtable Hold and then head to Limveld, where together you fight to survive three full day and night cycles. Survive the day and you’ll have to contend with the coming night tide, which will shrink the map until you’re left with no choice but to fight a powerful boss. The world becomes increasingly more challenging on each of the three days, culminating in a battle with the Night Lord himself. FromSoftware says you can choose to play Elden Ring Nightreign alone, but there is strength in numbers.

Elden Ring Nightreign is not an Elden Ring DLC

Elden Ring Nightreign screenshot showing how important co-op mode will be due to the huge threat of spiders — (Image credit: FromSoftware)

Elden Ring Nightreign is not DLC, but a standalone adventure. Publisher Bandai Namco has also confirmed that it will not be free-to-play and that it will not be a premium experience, but has not yet released a concrete answer as to how much it will ultimately cost. As this is a standalone game, it is unlikely that any progression or items will carry over from Elden Ring or Shadow of the Earthtree.

Elden Ring Nightreign characters

Elden Ring Nightreign screenshot showing three unique character builds battling a hellish creature — (Image credit: FromSoftware)

Elden Ring Nightreign is a departure from the classic FromSoftware model. You can’t create a character from scratch and can instead choose from one of eight unique character builds – each with their own weapons, fighting styles, unique abilities and ultimate abilities. As you make your way into the Night Lord’s realm, you’ll need to work with two other players to ensure a balanced party – working together to defeat powerful enemies and venture into more dangerous parts of the open Limveld map. You can customize your character’s appearance in Elden Ring Nightreign by unlocking skins, and you can upgrade your equipment by unearthing special relics.

Elden Ring Nightreign gameplay

Elden Ring Nightreign screenshot showing the new Limveld environment from a high vantage point — (Image credit: FromSoftware)

The gameplay of Elden Ring Nightreign is significantly different from the original Elden Ring. While that experience took you into a sprawling open world and left you alone enough to figure out what happened next, Elden Ring Nightreign is more focused. It’s a session-based game where you and two friends set off for Limveld and attempt to survive three full day and night cycles. As you explore the land and fight enemies together, you’ll discover more powerful weapons and better rune and relic rewards – which you can use to upgrade your equipment and skills. Places of Grace can also be found throughout the shrinking map, giving you the opportunity to level up and gain crucial power for the session.

Leveling differs in Elden Ring Nightreign from its single-player counterpart. You invest runes not in individual stats, but in entire levels, improving your character stats across the board. Nightreign has eight characters to choose from and the stat expansion is different for each of them. Character stat progression does not carry over between sessions – meaning that regardless of whether your party succumbs to the dangers of Limveld or defeats the Night Lord, you will always start a new adventure at level one. There Is However, there is progression in the form of Relics – obtained from both successful and unsuccessful runs – which provide massive bonuses and affect everything from exploration to your equipment.

Elden Ring Nightreign fight

Elden Ring Nightreign screenshot showing some magic and skeleton summoning

(Image credit: FromSoftware)

The Elden Ring Nightreign combat experience builds on the base Elden Ring experience, but there will be some notable differences. With the character creator gone, there are eight builds to choose from when loading a session – each with their own equipment, weapons and abilities. From the gameplay footage we’ve seen so far, it’s the combination of the three characters that unlocks the best opportunities in Elden Ring Nightreign, bringing tank, DPS and support builds together to deliver big challenges master. There are also some subtle changes: fall damage has been removed from the experience and movement has been sped up to allow for faster exploration and navigation on an ever-shrinking map. Otherwise, you can expect Elden Ring Nightreign to behave similarly to the original Elden Ring, with the controls and core combat mechanics returning.

Elden Ring is one of the best action games ever made, but only time will tell if this co-op spin-off is considered one of them best online games in today’s market.

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