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Dec. 13: On the official Nightreign website, Bandai Namco states that the game's Network Test "will be coming in February." Registration to enter the test will begin on January 10. Mark your calendar.
Like Dark Souls 2, 3, and Elden Ring before it, FromSoftware's next game will get a playable beta test sometime before release.
Elden Ring: Nightreign, a co-op roguelike spin-off of the hit RPG, is due sometime in 2025. During a preview event last week, I went hands-on with a build that will likely be similar or identical to what to expect from a Nightreign beta, and FromSoftware confirmed that ahead of launch it will conduct a Network Test to see how the game servers hold up to thousands of simultaneous players. And, presumably, to gather lots of player data and feedback to make final adjustments before release.
Based on past Network Tests, I'd expect Nightreign's to be held somewhere between two and six months before launch. FromSoftware usually opens a sign-up period a couple weeks before the test will be held, then sends out invitations to a number of players, granting them access to a custom build of the game. Elden Ring's Network Test only allowed access to a portion of the starting zone Limgrave, and also packed the map with a number of powerful gear pick-ups that were far more spread out in the final game, many not accessible until dozens of hours later. That approach makes much more sense for a "network test" than a "beta" focused more on assessing balance or gathering player feedback.
Nightreign's Network Test will inevitably work a bit differently, because it's such a different sort of game than the RPGs we're accustomed to from FromSoftware. As I explain in my hands-on preview, this co-op roguelike is focused on throwing you into repeated, randomized action in the same map rather than progressing across a sprawling game world.
If the Network Test is similar to the preview build of the game I played, the whole map will be accessible, but major elements of the game—including meta progression and upgrades for the characters you can play as, dynamic map changes, and the full "pool" of enemies and bosses—either won't be finalized yet or just won't be included in the build.
We can also likely count on dataminers to use the Network Test to uncover some juicy details about the final game—though given that Nightreign is a combat-focused spin-off rather than an RPG with tons of opaque story tendrils to analyze, there might not be as much to dig into. But maybe we'll get a hint about the two characters that FromSoftware is currently keeping secret.
