Elden Ringis one of the most celebrated video games of all time, so it makes sense thatElden Ring Nightreignis one of the most anticipated games of 2025. The full release is nearly here, but some players can experienceElden Ring Nightreignearlier 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 Nightreigndoesn’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.
How to Play Elden Ring Nightreign With the New Zealand Trick
To playElden Ring Nightreignearly, all you have to do ischange your system’s region to New Zealand.New Zealand is the earliest time zone whereNightreignreleases, 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 onNightreign’s release date— May 30 — in New Zealand.Elden Ring Nightreignreleases inNew Zealand at 12:00 AM on May 30, which translates to5:00 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.
The New Zealand trickonly works on PlayStation if you create an entirely new PSN accountbased in New Zealand and then purchaseNightreignon that account. As long as that account hasconsole sharing and offline playenabled in the console’s settings, your main account will be able to playNightreigneven though the other account technically owns it.TheNew Zealand trick doesn’t work at all on PC, unfortunately, but Steam users already get access toElden Ring Nightreigna few hours early anyway. ThePC version ofNightreignlaunches a full six hours aheadof 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.
