What Elden Ring Nightreign is and isn’t – all DLC, expansion, battle royale, roguelike, and sequel queries answered

Elden Ring, Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, and now Elden Ring Nightreign – original game, expansion, and standalone co-op spin-off. Got it? Now off you pop to secure your pre-order and lament the fact Nightreign isn’t coming to Game Pass.

Still here? In this guide, we’ll provide answers to your most pressing questions about what Elden Ring Nightreign is and isn’t, including those about it being a battle royale, a roguelike, and whether it includes any sort of PvP component.

Is Elden Ring Nightreign a DLC or expansion to the original game?

No, unlike the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion that requires the base game, Nightreign is a completely standalone spin-off and a game in its own right albeit set in the same universe as Elden Ring. You won’t need Elden Ring to play Nightreign nor will it come as a piece of DLC. Instead, it’s a completely separate game with its own download, and it’ll show up in your Steam library (PS library etc.) with its own tidy little listing.

Is Elden Ring Nightreign a sequel to Elden Ring?

No, Elden Ring Nightreign isn’t a sequel, continuation, or successor to Elden Ring, nor is it Elden Ring 2. It isn’t a single-player RPG either. While the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion was fully part of and expanded on Elden Ring’s lore and story, Nightreign doesn’t. Instead, it’s set within the Elden Ring universe but is a standalone experience that re-imagines the game’s core design into a multiplayer session-based RPG roguelike with some battle royale seasoning. It will mostly play like Elden Ring in terms of the combat and looks like The Lands Between, but takes place in a shifting, randomised alternate reality of Limgrave from Elden Ring called Limveld. 

Is Elden Ring Nightreign a battle royale?

Yes and no. Structurally it borrows the same linchpin shrinking circle mechanic established by the battle royale genre. As you fight enemies and explore, the circle will progressively get smaller over the course of three days. Linger outside of the circle and you’ll sustain constant damage just like in Fortnite or Warzone. Battle royale mechanics like simple colour-coded loot, a simplified inventory, no class-bound weapons, and team mate revives are also part of the deal.

Where Nightreign diverges from the battle royale formula is that it’s a PvE game, so you’re fighting against mobs and bosses rather than other players. Each match happens over the course of three nights. Every night has its own shrinking circle that culminates in a major boss fight. At the end of the third night, you’ll take on the Night Lord, the equivalent of the match’s final boss.

Is Elden Ring Nightreign a roguelike?

Yes, Elden Ring loosely falls into the roguelike category. It has a short-ish run-based loop (or match-based is a better description) and there’s some meta-progression. At the end of every run, regardless of whether you kill the Night Lord or not, you’ll earn Relics. These are permanent equippable passive buffs, effects, and perks that carry over between matches, much like cross-run abilities or skills you’d unlock in a roguelike. 

Like in a roguelike, all members of your team dying will signal the end of the run. Though the overall map layout is identical for each match, enemies, loot, and certain points of interest configurations are randomised like in a roguelike.

Though Nightreign is light on the storytelling compared to Elden Ring, you’ll be able to dip into Remembrance memories for each of the eight character classes at the pre-game Roundtable Hold hub. Some will be journal entries, while others will be playable single-player tangents where an NPC will task you with an objective such as finding an item during a match then bringing it back to them in the Remembrance. Other Remembrances will involve fighting off bosses solo. This is similar to piecemeal delivery of story and lore typically found in roguelikes.

Is Elden Ring Nightreign PvP?

No, Elden Ring Nightreign doesn’t contain any sort of PvP component and is a three-player co-op experience. It’s purely PvE (Player vs. Environment). There’s no way to engage other players in combat nor does it port over the invasion mechanic from previous FromSoftware games. You’ll never encounter players other than your two team mates.