ted.litchfield@futurenet.com (Ted Litchfield)
2024-12-14 15:10:00
www.pcgamer.com
Elden Ring’s co-op focused spinoff, Nightreign, is set to release sometime in 2025, but thanks to Nightreign’s official website, we now know that its pre-launch network test will be held in February. The bad news is that it looks like this test will only be accessible on PS5 and Xbox Series consoles.
On the official Bandai Namco webpage for the Nightreign network test, there’s an announcement that the limited-access playable build will be made available in February, with registration for it opening up on January 10. So far, so good, but then we get to the killshot: PS5 and Xbox Series logos, with nary a Steam or Epic badge in sight.
To be honest, I was hopeful but far from confident that we might be able to access the Nightreign network test on PC. FromSoft’s previous network tests for its games have all skipped PC, with the 2013 run for Dark Souls 2 occurring before a full launch that was delayed on PC vs. consoles anyway. Despite having simultaneous full launches on PC, Dark Souls 3’s network test was exclusive to PS4, while Elden Ring’s 2021 test was exclusive to consoles. It also probably wouldn’t surprise you to learn that the PS4-exclusive Bloodborne had a PS4-exclusive network test.
Even as a PC guy, I don’t think I can fault FromSoftware or Bandai Namco for its decision: A PC release of the Network test would assuredly be easier to crack and datamine than a console one. This hasn’t stopped the most dedicated dataminers like Lance McDonald from uncovering development secrets in FromSoft’s various network test builds through the use of modified consoles, but these revelations have all come after the release of their respective full games—either due to the restraint of the relatively few dataminers with the capability to access these files, the technical difficulty of the process, or both.
The good news is that we now have an even better idea of when in 2025 Nightreign might drop: PCG senior editor Wes Fenlon estimated two to six months between a network test and a full launch, while base Elden Ring’s wait was about three and a half months. That gives us a wider window of April through July, with a more precise target of mid-May to mid-June if Nightreign shares the original Elden Ring’s network test-to-full game gap. Nightreign now has a fairly barebones Steam page where you can wishlist the game, and you can also check out Wes’ extensive hands-on coverage of the spinoff.
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