Elden Ring sequel asks gamers to sign up so they can jump into the game early and for free

THE Game Awards is the biggest event in gaming with plenty of announcements for some of the biggest upcoming games.

One of the biggest reveals was that Elden Ring will become a series, with another game announced.

Elden Ring: Nightreign isn’t a full sequel to the open-world soulslike, but a multiplayer spin-off from the mainline game.

Elden Ring is one of the most popular games of all time, and won Game of the Year in 2022.

Players are obviously excited for more Elden Ring, particularly given the success of the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.

Developer FromSoftware has just announced that there will be a Network Test for Nightreign, and has invited players to sign up to try it out.

FromSoftware said Nightreign’s network test will be available for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S starting in February 2025.

Registration will begin from Friday, January 10, 2025, and it is unclear whether there will be limited places, or if everyone can take part.

Either way as a network stress test, it is likely that a large number of people will be asked to participate.

The description of the test reads: “The network test is a preliminary verification test in which the selected testers play a portion of the game prior to the full game launch. 

“Various technical verifications of online systems will be examined by conducting large-scale network load tests.”

This means that people will be able to play a section of the upcoming game, where players create teams of three to take on different challenges.

Boss fights from previous FromSoftware games, such as the Dark Souls series, will feature in Nightreign, but the combat system will give them a fresh twist.

Summoning Co-op

In Elden Ring you can summon other players to help you out with difficult bosses, or you can play the whole game solo.

But Nightreign is a different take, where you will always be playing with others.

It’s unclear if the difficulty level will ramp up, or the bosses will be redesigned for multiple players, but we’re sure that FromSoftware has plenty of tricks up its sleeve.

If you want to read more about other announcements, check out our The Game Awards live blog with all of the reveals.