Elden Ring Nightreign was a surprise announcement back in December. The spinoff of the popular FromSoftware game comes out in May, but the network test starts on Friday. That is, if you were lucky to get selected.

This is how the RPG/genre debate went among Kotaku staffers earlier this morning in Slack. This chat has been lightly edited and formatted. Kenneth Shepard: Thinking about the five best RPGS from the last decade.

Several friends have asked for my thoughts on the recently concluded Elden Ring Nighreign closed beta. After playing for over 10 hours across the five network tests conducted for the game, I'm still deciding how to best respond to their questions.

This is just talk, but both Game Of Thrones author George R.R. Martin (who helped write the game’s story) and FromSoft chief Hidetaka Miyazaki have mentioned the possibility of an Elden Ring film. When asked about possibly getting involved in a sequel,

Elden Ring and Soulsborne dataminer and content creator Zullie the Witch says they "don't know how to express how unprepared I was for the level of generosity I've received" after their community came together to help cover $15,

Elden Ring Nightreign looks like Elden Ring, the 2022 FromSoftware hit,and it seems like it should play like Elden Ring, an action-RPG about fighting massive bosses in a cursed op

Elden Ring Nightreign looks like Elden Ring, the 2022 FromSoftware hit,and it seems like it should play like Elden Ring, an action-RPG about fighting massive bosses in a cursed open world. And in a lot of ways it does feel cut from the same cloth as its predecessor,

Game of Thrones creator George RR Martin has teased a potential Elden Ring movie but admitted that there is one major obstacle that could prevent his involvement with it. Elden Ring was co-written by Martin and Hidetaka Miyazaki and became one of the best-selling games of the year upon its release in 2022.

He explained that the development team’s approach to Nightreign was a desire to incorporate elements learned from Elden Ring reconfigured into a new experience. Since FromSoftware is known for games with punishing combat,

Nightreign's Steam page suggests other playable characters could be added to the game at a later date.The Latest Tech News, Delivered to Your Inbox

Elden Ring Nightreign (out May 30) is a multiplayer game set in The Lands Between, the primary location of the original Elden Ring (2022). It’s not a sequel or an expansion, like 2024’s Shadow of the Erdtree was,