Elden Ring: Nightreign – Launch Times, Pre-loads & What Fresh Hell Awaits

The Lands Between are about to get a whole lot darker... and more chaotic. FromSoftware's Elden Ring: Nightreign is ditching the sprawling solo odysseys for a brutal, fast-paced roguelite gauntlet designed to test your cooperative mettle (or your solo masochism). Whether you’re a seasoned demigod or a fresh soul lured by the siren song of multiplayer mayhem, here's your survival guide for day one.

PC Tarnished, synchronize your chronometers! Nightreign descends upon you simultaneously worldwide at 6:00 p.m. EDT on May 29, 2025. This translates to 3:00 p.m. PDT and 5:00 p.m. CDT on May 29th for those in earlier North American time zones. Across the pond in Europe, that’s 11:00 p.m. BST on May 29th, or 12:00 a.m. (Midnight) CEST on May 30th. For players further east, it will be into the morning of May 30th, such as 7:00 a.m. KST/JST or 8:00 a.m. AEST. Ensure you convert this universal launch to your specific local time. Your pre-load ritual should commence on May 27th, ensuring you're poised the instant the gates of Limveld creak open.

Console Release: The Staggered Summoning

PlayStation and Xbox warriors, your entry into Nightreign follows the hallowed midnight local time tradition for most. In the Americas, however, there's a unified descent at Midnight EDT on May 30th. This means West Coasters (PDT) can cleverly sneak in at 9 p.m. on May 29th, while those in Brazil (BRT) will join the fray at 1 a.m. on May 30th. For the rest of the world, your torment begins precisely at midnight in your specific time zone as the calendar flips to May 30th. Yes, our Kiwi brethren will be tasting Limveld's horrors hours before many others. Lucky them?

What Horrors Slumber in the Launch Build?

Upon launch, Nightreign will unleash eight distinct Nightfarer Classes for you to master, or more likely, die repeatedly with. These paths of pain include the stalwart Wylder, the stoic Guardian, the regal Duchess, the shadowy Recluse, the keen-eyed Ironeye, the ferocious Raider, the decisive Executor, and the newly unveiled, ethereal Revenant—a spectral summoner who wields a harp to call forth ghostly allies and weave musical doom.

Initially, your expeditions into the shifting realm of Limveld will be either as a lone wolf or in a strictly enforced three-player co-op. Director Junya Ishizaki has acknowledged that a two-player option was "tragically overlooked" during initial development but confirms it is now high on the team’s post-launch roadmap for active discussion and potential implementation. For those courageous (or foolish) enough to venture solo, FromSoftware assures that enemy aggressiveness has been tuned so lone adventurers won’t face quite as many impossible multi-foe pile-ups, aiming for a challenging but not immediately crushing experience.

The torment doesn't end at launch; it merely evolves. Expect a steady stream of post-launch support in the form of free updates, promising new bosses to conquer, even more terrifying foes to flee from, fresh classes to experiment with (and inevitably perish as), and the eventual arrival of the much-discussed two-player mode. Early glimpses of new boss encounters already tease unholy alliances, such as a spectral moth paired with a colossal crab, a formidable convocation of dragons, and even familiar antagonists from Elden Ring proper, now twisted by Limveld's influence into new, even more nightmarish forms.

Your Pre-Nightreign Ritual Checklist:

• Secure Your Entry: Pre-load the game 48 hours prior. No excuses.
• Choose Your Armaments: Pick your Edition (Collector’s, Deluxe, or Standard) and claim that pre-order cosmetic. You'll want to look good for your first dozen deaths.
• Assemble Your Warband: If you're braving this with allies, coordinate your Nightfarer classes for maximum synergistic suffering on opening night.
• Set Your Alarms (for Doom): Bookmark those start times. Every second wasted is a second you're not dying gloriously in Limveld.

Limveld's shifting horrors beckon. The night is dark and full of... well, you know. Sharpen your steel, whisper your incantations, and find two brave (or foolish) souls to join your descent. The reign of Night begins the evening of May 29th (or the witching hour of May 30th, location-dependent).

Good hunting, Tarnished. You're going to need it.