Elden Ring was first revealed at Microsoft's E3 2019 press conference, and fans have been waiting patiently to get their hands on the game ever since. After years of waiting, Elden Ring is finally nearing its release date, with the highly-anticipated open world game from FromSoftware set to launch on Friday, February 25. Elden Ring pre-orders are available now, but anyone buying on Xbox will want to do something first before paying for the game.
The Microsoft Rewards program currently has a punch card worth 6,000 points for anyone that purchases Elden Ring between February 13 and March 9, assuming that they activate the punch card first by clicking "Activate punch card." After activating the punch card, players then should click on the "Get ELDEN RING" task, which will take them to the Microsoft Store. Here players can pre-order Elden Ring for $59.99, at which point they'll get their extra 6,000 rewards points.
For those unfamiliar with the Microsoft Rewards program, it's something that any Xbox One or Xbox Series X gamer should seriously consider checking out. The points that players get for Microsoft Rewards can be redeemed for digital cash that can be spent on more purchases through the marketplace, as well as entries in various sweepstakes. Not only that, but Microsoft Rewards points can be used to get Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass subscriptions. If one makes an effort to complete enough of the Xbox Game Pass quests and Microsoft Rewards punch cards every month, they can make Game Pass pay for itself.
So anyone on Xbox One or Xbox Series X that was planning on buying Elden Ring anyway should definitely make sure that they activate this punch card first. Otherwise, they are basically throwing away free money. It should be noted this should work for both the base game of Elden Ring and the Elden Ring Deluxe Edition, which runs for $10 more at $79.99, but comes with some bonus content. Pre-ordering either version will net players the Adventure Guide, which will give them more information on the Lands Between, the world where Elden Ring takes place.
In the meantime, anyone that buys digital games regularly on their Xbox consoles should definitely check out the Microsoft Rewards program, as there are often similar punch cards available for other big game releases. Sometimes there are even bonus points to get on top of the purchases, like for earning achievements in the game, though those punch cards must also be activated beforehand.
Elden Ring launches February 25 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.