Elden Ring is one of the most celebrated video games of all time, so it makes sense that Elden Ring Nightreign is one of the most anticipated games of 2025. The full release is nearly here, but some players can experience Elden Ring Nightreign earlier than everyone else with the tried and true New Zealand trick.

The New Zealand trick has been an open secret for quite some time now, especially on Xbox consoles where the region-changing process is much more straightforward than on PC and PlayStation. Elden Ring Nightreign doesn't have a synchronized global release, which means the New Zealand trick can be used to unlock the game as soon as it goes live in New Zealand no matter where you're located. There are some restrictions, though, and it's much harder to pull this trick off on certain platforms as well.

elden-ring-nightreign_key
Elden Ring Nightreign Review

A near-perfect merging of FromSoftware game design and roguelike structure, Elden Ring Nightreign is a bold experiment and one of 2025's highlights.

By 

How to Play Elden Ring Nightreign With the New Zealand Trick

Elden Ring Nightreign Wylder Character Guide

To play Elden Ring Nightreign early, all you have to do is change your system's region to New Zealand. New Zealand is the earliest time zone where Nightreign releases, which is why it's the target of this trick. If you change your region, the game will become playable as soon as the clock strikes midnight on Nightreign's release date — May 30 — in New Zealand .Elden Ring Nightreign releases in New Zealand at 12:00 AM on May 30, which translates to 5:00 AM PT/8:00 AM ET on May 29. That's when you'll be able to start playing with the New Zealand trick. The New Zealand trick only works this way on Xbox consoles, and there are a few additional steps for other platforms.

Elden Ring Nightreign Release Times

The New Zealand trick only works on PlayStation if you create an entirely new PSN account based in New Zealand and then purchase Nightreign on that account. As long as that account has console sharing and offline play enabled in the console's settings, your main account will be able to play Nightreign even though the other account technically owns it.The New Zealand trick doesn't work at all on PC, unfortunately, but Steam users already get access to Elden Ring Nightreign a few hours early anyway. The PC version of Nightreign launches a full six hours ahead of its console counterparts, so Steam users can start playing at 3:00 PM PT/6:00 PM ET on May 29. The New Zealand trick would only give PC users a few-hour headstart, so it isn't a huge deal at the end of the day.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image
Elden Ring Nightreign Tag Page Cover Art
9 /10

Elden Ring Nightreign
Display card tags widget
Action RPG
Soulslike
Roguelite
Display card system widget
Systems
PlayStation-1 Xbox-1 PC-1
Display card community and brand rating widget Display card open critics widget
Top Critic Avg: 80 /100 Critics Rec: 78%
Display card main info widget
Released
May 30, 2025
Developer(s)
From Software
Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start
Elden Ring Nightreign Press Image 6
8 Images
Elden Ring Nightreign Press Image 6
Elden Ring Nightreign Press Image 8
Elden Ring Nightreign Press Image 1
Elden Ring Nightreign Press Image 5
Elden Ring Nightreign Press Image 7
Elden Ring Nightreign Press Image 4
Elden Ring Nightreign Press Image 3
Elden Ring Nightreign Press Image 2
Display card media widget end

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

Multiplayer
Online Co-Op
Number of Players
1-3
Steam Deck Compatibility
Unknown
PC Release Date
May 30, 2025
Xbox Series X|S Release Date
May 30, 2025
PS5 Release Date
May 30, 2025
Genre(s)
Action RPG, Soulslike, Roguelite