Elden Ring Nightreign Network Test Dates Revealed

Summary

Yesterday, Bandai Namco revealed Elden Ring Nightreign, a roguelike spin-off with a co-op focus.
Nightreign is due out in 2025, but select players can gain early access through a network test in February.
Registration for the test opens on January 10, so if you're interested in trying it out, it's worth signing up.

Bandai Namco has revealed that network tests for Elden Ring Nightreign will begin for select players sometime in February, with registration opening on January 10th.

Before The Game Awards 2024 kicked off last night, reliable insiders told us there were going to be some “holy s**t” moments. As it turned out, there were so many that it was hard to tell what the big surprise was supposed to be. The Witcher 4, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, Okami 2, Onimusha… the list is almost endless.

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Perhaps the biggest and most popular surprise of all, however, was the reveal of Elden Ring Nightreign, a three-player roguelike spin-off that allows players to team up and take down some of the series' biggest baddies together. Considering that FromSoft recently said that they aren't working on anything related to Elden Ring right now, this came as quite a shock, especially with a 2025 release date.

Lucky players can play Elden Ring Nightreign in two months

It's already surprising enough that a brand new take on the Elden Ring will be ready for release within the next 12 months, but it turns out that it's apparently in near-playable condition. Bandai Namco revealed earlier today that players will soon be able to sign up to gain access to the Network Tests for Nightreign, which will essentially act as a closed beta.

According to Bandai Namco UK's Twitter account and Elden Ring Nightreign's official website, registration for the game's network test will open on January 10th, which is a few weeks away. After that, the tests will begin and let in a select number of lucky players who will get early access to the game sometime in February.

A network test is a preliminary validation test in which selected testers play part of the game before it is fully launched. Various technical validations of online systems will be verified by performing extensive network load tests.

At this point we don't really know anything about what the network test will involve, but it's a sign of how far along the game is already. Anyone interested can sign up on the game's official site on January 10th and hopefully be playing Nightreign in February.