FromSoftware’s extremely popular 2022 “Soulsborne” action RPG Elden Ring was quite a departure from the developer’s design norms, as instead of featuring relatively straightforward levels with elements of nonlinearity like the Dark Souls games, it took place in one colossal open world with well over 100 hours of varied content to discover, enjoy, and overcome. The studio’s exploratory new approach ended up leading to massive success — and now, three years later, it’s trying something even more experimental with the new spinoff Elden Ring Nightreign.
Indeed, set in a universe parallel to the events of the original game with a roguelike structure and a strong emphasis on co-op play, Nightreign is quite radically different than FromSoftware’s previous titles. However, that bold new direction is precisely what has so many fans interested in and curious about the experience, and tons of potential champions of the Night are wondering when they can check it out themselves.
Thankfully, FromSoftware and publisher Bandai Namco have shared official release date details about Elden Ring Nightreign ahead of its imminent launch, including exact launch times for every time zone, preload date information, and how big its download size is. For a full overview of all of that information, read on.
What is Elden Ring Nightreign?
Elden Ring Nightreign is a co-op PvE-only spinoff of Elden Ring that takes place in a parallel universe. Like the original game, it’s centered around FromSoftware’s tough-but-fair, stamina-based Soulsborne combat with dodging, blocking, and both melee and magic attacks, as well as intense, spectacle driven boss fights. But while Nightreign shares Elden Ring’s core action mechanics and its colossal weapon and magic sandbox, the structure of the game is entirely different.
Despite its open-world foundation, Elden Ring was still ultimately a traditional Soulsborne RPG with slow-and-steady progression, an ocean of options for carefully planned buildcrafting, and a world you could approach at your own pace.
Nightreign, though, is a radical departure from FromSoftware’s usual faire. Taking place in “Limveld” — a reworked version of Elden Ring’s Limgrave region — it tasks you and two other co-op allies with quickly blitzing through the map, clearing out camps of enemies and minibosses for random upgrades and weapon drops while also leveling up with the runes (experience) earned. The race to get as strong as you can is against an encroaching battle royale-style circle that funnels you into a climactic boss fight; this entire process happens twice before you face off against a “Nightlord” final boss.
Instead of a customizable Tarnished character, Nightreign puts you in control of one of eight Nightfarers — each one having some unique abilities that encourage co-op teamwork as well as predetermined stat upgrades from levels. In other words, instead of carefully choosing your own stats, you just have to pick a character that aligns with a playstyle you enjoy and then do your best to get good weapons and upgrades that suit their strengths (or cover their weaknesses) on each of your runs. In this way, it’s essentially an Elden Ring roguelike.
At launch, Elden Ring Nightreign will be available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC, PS5, and PS4. It has an MSRP of $39.99, but notably, you can get it on both Xbox and PC for just $33.99 at Newegg by using the promo code “XVSAVE” (no quotes) at checkout. The $54.99 Deluxe Edition is also on sale for $50.29 at CDKeys, too.
Elden Ring Nightreign release date and launch times
Ahead of the game’s launch, Bandai Namco and FromSoftware have revealed that Elden Ring Nightreign is scheduled to release on May 30, 2025 — just before the weekend that caps this month off. However, because of both time zone differences and other unknown reasons, players in certain regions and/or using certain platforms will actually get to start playing on May 29.
Another thing to keep in mind is that there are separate launch times for the console and PC versions of the game, though both of them will unlock on either May 29 or May 30 worldwide. Both the graphic above and the tables below show all of these launch times for every time zone, so make sure to refer to them so you know exactly when you can start playing Nightreign.
Elden Ring Nightreign console launch times
Here’s when you’ll be able to play Elden Ring Nightreign if you’re planning to jump in on an Xbox or PlayStation console.
|
Time zone |
Launch time (console) |
|---|---|
|
PDT |
May 29, 9:00 p.m. |
|
CDT |
May 29, 11:00 p.m. |
|
COT |
May 29, 11:00 p.m. |
|
EDT |
May 30, 12:00 a.m. |
|
BRT |
May 30, 1:00 a.m. |
|
BST |
May 30, 12:00 a.m. |
|
CEST |
May 30, 12:00 a.m. |
|
SAST |
May 30, 12:00 a.m. |
|
EEST |
May 30, 12:00 a.m. |
|
MSK |
May 30, 12:00 a.m. |
|
ADT |
May 30, 12:00 a.m. |
|
GST |
May 30, 12:00 a.m. |
|
UTC+7 |
May 30, 12:00 a.m. |
|
UTC+8 |
May 30, 12:00 a.m. |
|
SGT |
May 30, 12:00 a.m. |
|
KST |
May 30, 12:00 a.m. |
|
JST |
May 30, 12:00 a.m. |
|
AEST |
May 30, 12:00 a.m. |
|
NZST |
May 30, 12:00 a.m. |
Elden Ring Nightreign PC launch times
Here’s when you’ll be able to play Elden Ring Nightreign if you’re playing on a Windows PC through Steam.
|
Time zone |
Launch time (PC) |
|---|---|
|
PDT |
May 29, 3:00 p.m. |
|
CDT |
May 29, 5:00 p.m. |
|
COT |
May 29, 5:00 p.m. |
|
EDT |
May 29, 6:00 p.m. |
|
BRT |
May 29, 7:00 p.m. |
|
BST |
May 29, 11:00 p.m. |
|
CEST |
May 30, 12:00 a.m. |
|
SAST |
May 30, 12:00 p.m. |
|
EEST |
May 30, 1:00 a.m. |
|
MSK |
May 30, 1:00 a.m. |
|
ADT |
May 29, 1:00 a.m. |
|
GST |
May 30, 2:00 a.m. |
|
UTC+7 |
May 30, 5:00 a.m. |
|
UTC+8 |
May 30, 6:00 a.m. |
|
SGT |
May 30, 6:00 a.m. |
|
KST |
May 30, 7:00 a.m. |
|
JST |
May 30, 7:00 a.m. |
|
AEST |
May 30, 8:00 a.m. |
|
NZST |
May 30, 10:00 a.m. |
Does Elden Ring Nightreign have Early Access?
While many new big games offer a few days of Early Access to the experience for players that preorder pricier Deluxe or Premium Editions, Elden Ring Nightreign isn’t one of them. While there is a Deluxe Edition that includes extra cosmetic goodies, it doesn’t provide Early Access to the game. That means everyone, no matter which version they own, has to wait for the above launch times.
Elden Ring Nightreign launch countdown
With the launch of Elden Ring Nightreign now just days away, many excited fans are counting down the hours until they’ll be able to jump in and play FromSoftware’s adventurous new roguelike spinoff. If you’re one of them, you can refer to the countdown clock below to do so (note that it’s set to count down to midnight on May 30 in the US Pacific Time time zone due to the lack of one global release time).
When can you preload Elden Ring Nightreign?
One of the best features of modern gaming that’s become quite prevalent in recent years is preloading, or the ability to download and install a game before it unlocks and is available to play. Preloading ensures you can start playing as soon as possible and don’t have to wait for a download to finish once a game is out; it’s great for everyone, but is especially helpful if you have a slow internet connection.
Some good news for fans is that Elden Ring Nightreign will support preloading on all platforms 48 hours before its launch times, so you’ll have a full two days to get the roguelike ARPG installed before it’s out on your platform and in your region. To figure out when that is for you, refer to the aforementioned launch times and count back two days.
Elden Ring Nightreign download size: How big is it?
These days, it’s not uncommon for new big-name titles to be close to or over the 100GB mark — a fact that’s often made it difficult to keep a healthy amount of storage open for new games. Elden Ring, though, was an exception to that trend with its incredibly reasonable 60GB install size, and Elden Ring Nightreign is even smaller at just ~21GB on consoles and 30GB on Steam.
That’s an incredibly small amount of required storage, and one that many gamers will no doubt be happy to see. Still, if you need to make room for the game, consider uninstalling titles you haven’t played in a long time or deleting large files you no longer need, like videos, if you’re on a PC. On both console and PC, you also have the option of upgrading storage with one of the best SSDs available.
Elden Ring Nightreign is slated to release on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC via Steam, PS5, and PS4 on May 30 later this week. It has the potential to be one of the best Xbox games and best PC games of 2025, especially for folks who enjoy the idea of a FromSoftware ARPG distilled down to non-stop action with its core combat mechanics.
