Elden Ring has been delayed until February 25, 2022. However, the game will get a closed network test from November 12-14 – and you can register to be a part of it now, but it will be a consoe test only.
Announced on Twitter, the Elden Ring team explained that the delay – which is just over a month from the original date of January 21 – is because, "the depth & strategic freedom of the game exceeded initial expectations." The team thanked players for their patience.
Important message:
ELDEN RING will release on Feb 25, 2022, as the depth & strategic freedom of the game exceeded initial expectations. Thank you for your trust & patience. We look forward to seeing you experience the game in the Closed Network Test in Nov.
The #ELDENRING Team
— ELDEN RING (@ELDENRING) October 18, 2021
There was some better news, however, with the annoucnement of a Closed Network Test, being used to judge how well the game's online elements work when put under the stress of a full playerbase.
The Closed Network Test is for console only, with the option to try the game on PS5, PS4, Xbox One, or Xbox Series X/S – with cross-play supported within console families. No mention has been made of a PC test.
The Closed Network Test will run from November 12-14, and players can be chosen to take part by registering on the Elden Ring website before November 1. Essentially, if you want to play some of Elden Ring early, you'll want to sign up soon.
The website makes clear that joining the test is free, but doesn't provide details of what it will entail, other than to say that it is "a pre-verification test for the completion of the commercial version of the game," and, "a test to improve the quality of the product." You'll need to create a Bandai Namco account to sign up.
There will be five sessions across November 12-14 (listed below in Pacific time):
Session 1: 3am – 6am, November 12
Session 2: 7pm – 10pm, November 12
Session 3: 11am – 2pm, November 13
Session 4: 3am – 6am, November 14
Session 5: 7pm – 10pm, November 15
Last weekend, thirty seconds of what appeared to be Elden Ring direct feed gameplay leaked – effectively our first public look at the game outside of trailers. IGN previously saw 15 minutes of the game running behind closed doors, which we summed up in a first preview.
The long-awaited game is an open world take on FromSoftware's beloved Souls games, continuing a legacy started by Demon Souls and carried on by the Dark Souls series, Bloodborne, and Sekiro. With world-building help from George R.R. Martin, it's a game that promises to have FromSoft's biggest ever map, all-new gameplay mechanics, and even a mechanic that sounds a bit like Pokemon. We previously had an in-depth chat with Souls mastermind Hidetaka Miyazaki about the game.
Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].