One of the biggest surprises at The Game Awards was the announcement that after the release of Elden Ring in 2023 and the release of Shadow of the Erdtree in 2024, there will now be a release of something called Elden Right Nightreign in 2025, a standalone new game.

It’s…different.

It is set in the world of Elden Ring, but unlike the previous two contents, it is a co-op survival game. This wasn’t explained at all in the show itself beyond this basic concept, but FromSoftware has now explained in more detail what this game actually is. The highlights:

• It is intended to be played in groups of three, but you can also play alone where it will be much more difficult.
• There is a three-day-night cycle that you have to survive.
• The maps change throughout the game and the night cycle shrinks the map. You will “never experience the same trip twice.”
• At the end of each day you fight a “terrifying boss” and after the final day against one of a selection of “Nightlords”, big bosses.
• The game is set in a universe that runs parallel to the events of Elden Ring, which may shed light on why someone like the unnamed king of Dark Souls is there.
• There are eight unique characters with unique abilities and a powerful ultimate. So uh, Elden Ring hero shooter? (not really, of course).

• If you fail, you will still receive relics that you can use to customize and improve your character to suit your play style.
• The tougher the enemies you defeat and the more difficult the parts of the map you explore, you’ll be rewarded with powerful weapons and runes. Each journey rewards permanent status bonuses.
• You’ll find Sites of Grace that allow you to level up and gain power in sessions that run like an “open-air dungeon.”
• As you defeat the Nightlords, you will reveal the story behind each of the heroes you play as.

This all sounds… very cool! Admittedly, I’m not really a co-op or survival gamer type, but do you have a FromSoft take on the idea? Yeah sure, I’ll definitely give it a try and this will certainly be an extremely popular release in 2025. And perhaps a contender for Elden Ring’s Game of the Year for the third year in a row. At least this time it’s a standalone game!

We don’t have a monthly or seasonal window for Nightreign to release in 2025, and given that, it could be in the second half of the year. This was a big surprise and no, we will never get Bloodborne 2.

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