Elden Ring Nightreign’s first network test — ongoing at the time of this article’s publication — is suffering from significant server issues that have prevented many from playing.
IGN staff with access to the test reported server problems so extreme they were unable to access the game for the test’s first hour.
The issues were bad enough that FromSoftware issued a statement on social media, confirming that players were struggling to find a match due to server congestion. The developer apologized, but encouraged players to try matching again after a while.
Exacerbating the problem is the fact the Elden Ring Nightreign network test is only available during five three-hour periods on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S from February 14 to February 17. Here’s the current schedule:
Elden Ring Nightreign network test session timings:
- February 14: 3am-6am PT / 6am-9am ET
- February 14: 7pm-10pm PT / 10pm-1am ET
- February 15: 11am-2pm PT / 2pm-5pm ET
- February 16: 3am-6am PT / 6am-9am ET
- February 16: 7pm-10pm PT / 10pm-1am ET
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,” Bandai Namco said.
“This large-scale Network Stress Test is designed to evaluate various aspects of the online system’s functionality and performance. We are looking forward to your cooperation to make Elden Ring Nightreign even better.”
It is of course better that Elden Ring Nightreign suffers server issues now than when it launches in May, but players who had earmarked time to try out the game now have expressed their frustration. Hopefully subsequent play sessions will run more smoothly.
Elden Ring Nightreign is FromSoftware’s standalone co-operative spin-off set in a world parallel to that of 2022’s Elden Ring. The network test will allow three players to team up and take their chosen Nightfarers to battle “against new terrors, and explore an ever-changing map to defeat increasingly challenging bosses and ultimately take on the Nightlord,” Bandai Namco added, before confirming the network test features a three day-and-night cycle squads must try to outlast.
Last year IGN had the opportunity to visit FromSoftware and go hands-on with an early build of Elden Ring Nightreign. We came away impressed, stating that Elden Ring Nightreign “takes the cautious dungeon crawls of Elden Ring and turbocharges them into propulsive, slash ‘n’ dash speedruns.”
Check out IGN’s interview with game director Junya Ishizaki for even more on Elden Ring Nightreign.
Elden Ring Nightreign launches on May 30, 2025 priced $40 across PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
Add comment