Elden Ring: Nightreign is the surpise co-op spinoff we never knew we wanted, and it is quickly becoming one of our most anticipated 2025 releases. In a moderately interesting update, IGN has learned that players can tackle Nightreign alone or as part of a trio; two-person duos are expressly banned.
Duos are a popular way to play in market-leading battle royale titles like Fortnite and Apex Legends, and so we were curious about the rationale. Game director Junya Ishizaki confirmed the sacred number of combatants and explained:
"No, it's either one-player or three-player. We went with a three-player focus because we wanted to retain that sense of accomplishment you get from battling a boss together or from conquering a map together and that sense of enjoyment, but we wanted to recreate that in a fresh way. And we felt like focusing on a three-player co-op experience would provide a brand new sense of accomplishment."
Are you looking forward to Nightreign? Do you have enough friends to form a trio, or will you and your only friend need to play separately and alone? Make some connections in the comments section below.
Comments 23
I was longing for a new Dark Souls / Elden Ring game (mainly Bloodborne) but this I have to give a hard pass.
Co-op and multiplayer is a big no no for me and even if we can play this as single player we all now were the focus is. And it ain't on the single player part...
"Five is right out!"
@Ooccoo_Jr such a funny scene - even after all these years!
Translation: “No, we’ll make more money if three people have to buy it.”
It's weird that Fromsoft allows it to be played solo or in a group of 3 but not duos. Strange decision on their part
@Hyena_socks Or it might just be because of the way it's designed for multiplayer.
That doesn’t make sense to be honest. Is the sense of accomplishment that different?
What a really odd choice - but then making an MP spin off seems a bit of an odd choice anyway.
Dear friend @DonkeyFantasy
They also stated that "they do not allow people to create a character in the game" either...
Dear friend @Zeke68
The moment I saw the trailer, it was a instant "hard pass" for me...
Such a lazy and shameless cash grab attempt...
No wonder Hidetaka Miyazaki distanced himself from this ill minded project.
Never gonna buy this game.
I ASSUME they are going to rebalance this for single player and for three players, and logically they will have different enemy AI reactions to one or three players to prevent kiting and cheesing in multiplayer. That is quite a lot of work, and I assume they are doing this to stop them having to also rebalance and change AI for two players too.
But it is an odd decision. It is MUCH easier to get one person together at a time than to get two simultaneously. I hope this is something they address, even if after launch.
This seems like a weird decision, and quite annoying as playing in a duo would be the only way I'd likely play this game.
@breakneck They've already said they will!
@ Khayl I have to mention again, as it's the 2nd time you've called it a 'battle royale' in an article, but... it isn't? Theres no pvp, it's entirely pve, and the only similarity to Fortnite- or any battle royale- is the decreasing arena size. But, given the focus is entirely on cooperating to power up, while allowing for people to veer off in different directions, how exactly does it fit the 'battle royale' category? Again, I think that's a bit misleading to call it such, and Push Square seems to be the only site using that term to describe it (despite getting your info from elsewhere...).
Edit: To be more specific: it's a co-op rougelike!
I have a feeling that duos will be supported within a year of this game's release
@DonkeyFantasy that's true though, they confirmed you won't be able to make your own character
@ozkrmz Yep, I'm sure you'll be one of the guys who cries when the game is well-received. No need to be so cynical when the game isn't even out yet. Also, enjoy not buying it, I'm sure the world at large will go on, we'll have a lot of fun without you!
I also have to take umbridge with the 'Battle Royale' tag that Push Square is using, seems a bit reductive. The way it's been described it sounds a lot like a co-operative rogueite with a few elements of a battle royale. Even that sounds off
@Hyena_socks I mean that's a pretty ill-informed thing to say when it can be played single player. No need to be so cynical, could be a good game. I'm sure the people who are working on it are passionate about it. Unfair to say that
It’s not even a Battle Royale. There’s no PVP in the game whatsoever. Nice clickbait though.
I'm lucky if I have a single friend who has time to play a game when I am free, let alone 2 friends. Busy lives don't lend themselves to a lot of time to play a game with more than one person. Just weird.
I think this is the final strike against it for us.
I just wanted to co-op with my wife, like we did in Elden Ring. Now every accomplishment is going to feel cheated because we have to lug around an awkward 3rd wheel that might be at a completely different part of the game and carries us through the fight.
Sounds like its bargain bin material for me now.
I only have 1 friend 😢
@DodgyDarwin No need to brag
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