In brief: Bandai Namco today announced an upcoming closed network test for FromSoftware's latest dark fantasy action RPG, Elden Ring. However, the news also came with a delay of the game's final release date by about a month.

FromSoftware says it needs to push Elden Ring's launch from January 21 to February 25, 2022. In the meantime, the developer has a closed network test coming up in five "sessions" lasting a few hours each day from November 12 through November 14 on consoles.

Bandai Namco marked the announcement with a brief teaser and a new screenshot (above). Those who wish to participate in the network test must sign up before November 1.

Bandai Namco has the session times for the network test listed on the sign-up page. All times listed are Pacific. The first two will be in the early morning and late evening of Friday, November 12. The third session will be in the middle of the following day, and the last two will be in the morning and evening of Sunday.

The network test will be for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series consoles. Elden Ring is also coming out on PC, but FromSoftware has not scheduled a PC network test.

Over the weekend, someone leaked about 30 seconds of new footage from Elden Ring. According to a post on the ResetEra forum linking to the now-deleted YouTube channel that posted the footage, it appears to be from the Xbox One version. It doesn't show much---just a player character running around and jumping in an outdoor environment with a compass at the top of the screen---two features that weren't in Dark Souls or Bloodborne. From Software introduced jumping in its games in its most recent title, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.