Nobody could have expected this spin-off: Elden Ring Nightreign is coming in 2025 as a co-op genre mix
Many things were expected at the Game Awards 2024. Borderlands 4, the new Mafia, Witcher 4 - all unsurprising. But Elden Ring Nightreign as a standalone spin-off with a focus on co-op gameplay in a wild genre mix? Take a look.
The very last genre that gamers would associate with Elden Ring, or FromSoftware games in general, are probably battle royales. But that's what it comes down to when Elden Ring Nightreign, announced at this year's Game Awards, is released in 2025. Not DLC, not just a new multiplayer mode, but as a standalone game.
FromSoftware and publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment are announcing Nightreign, PVE battles with co-op multiplayer in which you have to survive three day-night cycles in Elden Ring areas alone or with a maximum of three players in a team. In such a loop, you explore areas, stuff your pockets with important items, slaughter a number of enemies in teamwork - and break the cycle by killing the boss in Elden Ring Nightreign at the end of a run. Praise the SunNight!
The gameplay footage shown in the announcement trailer shows the Elden Ring world as we know it. And yet something is different. A barrier seems to be closing, drawing ever closer around the game area. Then the trailer for Elden Ring Nightreign shows the first battles with several player characters, who are obviously picking apart smaller and larger (new) enemies in co-op until they are confronted with one in a boss area. But see for yourself - here is the first trailer for Nightreign.
Yes, these are typical battle royale elements that FromSoftware shows here. In particular, the closing circle, this blue barrier that closes more and more as the game progresses and drives gamers into increasingly narrow areas, is one of the core features of a battle royale game. You may recognise it from games like Fortnite, PUBG or COD Warzone. Players who stay outside such a circle take constant damage and sooner or later succumb to their escape behaviour. Each battle royale match is therefore limited in time and certain tasks have to be completed within this time - in the case of Elden Ring Nightreign, this will probably be flattening boss opponents.
But while almost all other battle royale games are PvP or PvPvE games, Nightreign is limited to PvE in a very limited co-op mode for up to three players at the same time. This means that players do not fight against other players, but only against computer-controlled enemies. What do you think of the idea of setting such a spin-off in the Elden Ring universe? Refreshing or unnecessary? Let us know in the comments!
Elden Ring Nightreign is scheduled for release in 2025 and will also be available on Gamesplanet. Bandai Namco has not yet given a more precise release date.