Elden Ring: Nightreign, the latest entry from FromSoftware, has officially launched and it’s already a massive hit. Despite early concerns from critics that its multiplayer focus may not resonate with fans of FromSoftware’s traditionally single-player experiences, player numbers suggest otherwise. Within the first hour of launch, Nightreign reached an impressive 313,593 peak concurrent players on Steam, placing it among the top three biggest PC game launches of 2025. Check out an excited X tweet showing off the impressive numbers after it had just reached over 300,000 below:
Released as a multiplayer-centric evolution of 2022’s Elden Ring, Nightreign shifts away from solitary exploration and embraces large-scale cooperative and competitive gameplay. Some reviewers noted that the game may not match the introspective depth or solo pacing of its predecessor, but fans appear eager for a fresh take on the Lands Between. Check out the official launch trailer for the game featuring Evanesence's song Bring Me To Life down below:
Launch Stats and Context
Peak Steam players (first hour): 313,593
Ranks as the third-biggest PC launch of 2025, only behind Monster Hunter Wilds and Schedule 1
Surpasses recent hits such as Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Oblivion Remastered, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
It’s worth noting that this figure only reflects the PC launch via Steam. With additional players logging in from PlayStation and Xbox consoles, Nightreign’s total day-one audience is likely significantly larger. We will see just how many are playing in the coming days.
Will Nightreign Match Elden Ring In Popularity?
While Elden Ring set a towering record of 953,426 peak concurrent players at launch in 2022, the multiplayer-heavy design of Nightreign may make such numbers difficult to match. Multiplayer titles typically see more varied engagement patterns and longer-term retention curves rather than massive single-player launch spikes. However Nightreign could be the odd one out and bloom regardless of it's multiplayer title status.
Elden Ring: Nightreign is a roguelite spin-off set in Limveld, the starting area of the main Elden Ring game, but in a different timeline. Players take on the role of Nightfarers, who must survive three-day expeditions to hunt the Nightlords. The goal is to defeat the Nightlords, with successful expeditions leading to fights against the Nightlord, and ultimately, a final showdown with the Nightlord itself.
With many curious as to how well Nightreign will do compared to Elden Ring. Some say that it will not do as well, however, early momentum suggests Nightreign is well on its way to becoming one of the standout titles of 2025.
What are your thoughts on the player count? Have you purchased or played Nightreign yet? Which boss do you want to fight against? Let us know how you are liking it down in the comments section below!
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