Elden Ring: Nightreign announced at the Game Awards – nobody really expected that

Elden Ring. Amazing game. Shadow of the Erdtree expansion – mindblowing follow up but we have all become accustomed to the fact that that could be the end of The Lands Between until some far-off Elden Ring 2 sequel.

Then, at The Game Awards 2024 in-between moments of Keighley, came the announcement nobody expected. It wasn’t Half-Life 3 which turned out to be another case of ‘in-the-knows’ knowing nothing (and we did get The Witcher 4), but a new game set in the Elden Ring universe. Nightreign. Elden Ring: Nightreign is a standalone multiplayer co-op survival game set in “a harsh and unforgiving world.”

It may be co-op but you will be able to take it on solo, but whether that will turn out to be a good idea or not – unless you are one of those speedrunners who can complete games in under three minutes.

Teaming up in squads of three – or daring to go solo – teams must outlast a three-day-and-night cycle, making split decisions about combat and exploration across changing maps to become strong enough to take down terrifying bosses at the end of each day.

These night bosses must be defeated in order to progress to the next section. An interesting section of the press release reads, “All is not lost for those who fall in defeat; unsuccessful runs will grant players relics to allow them to customize and upgrade their characters tailored to their personal play styles.” – so a bit like Elden Vampire Survivors then.

Assuming that kind of mechanic is how it sounds it might be that the first few rounds will be horrifically difficult until you can buff your character and gear. If it manages to get the “just one more game” feel right, it is going to be huge, and perfect for those who couldn’t be bothered with the extreme difficulty of ER that put off a lot of players.

It actually all sounds rather cool and you can check out the highly cinematic trailer above for a first look at what to expect next year.

Elden Ring Nightreign will launch in 2025 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam