Dark Souls 3 PC servers are back online, other titles still to come

By Jesse Lennox Published August 25, 2022

After being shut down due to a malicious exploit, the multiplayer servers for Dark Souls 3 on PC have been brought back online. Servers for the first two Dark Souls games are still offline, but FromSoftware reaffirmed its efforts to restore them.

Online features for the PC version of Dark Souls III have been reactivated.

We are working to restore these features for all other #DarkSouls titles and will inform you when they are back in service.

Thank you once more for your patience and support. pic.twitter.com/XHiCZDEANC

— Dark Souls (@DarkSoulsGame) August 25, 2022

The entire Dark Souls trilogy had its online functionality suddenly removed in January 2022 when an exploit was discovered that allowed hackers to remotely execute code on other players’ computers. At the time this exploit was discovered, Bandai Namco issued a statement claiming that the shutdown would be temporary and regular service would be restored upon the launch of Elden Ring later that month. However, we didn’t get any updates on the situation until May, when FromSoftware responded to an email from PC Gamer stating that it was still in the process of restoring the online servers for the series.

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Three months after that statement, the official Dark Souls Twitter announced on August 25 that all online features for the PC version of Dark Souls 3 have been restored. The tweet goes on to state that “We are working to restore these features for all other #DarkSouls titles and will inform you when they are back in service. Thank you once more for your patience and support.”

This will be the first time in seven months that Dark Souls 3 players will be able to utilize online features such as co-op, PvP, and messaging systems. Based on the sudden and unexpected nature of this announcement and the fact that neither FromSoftware nor Bandai Namco seems willing to give any timeline for restoring online functions for the remaining two titles, it is likely that we won’t hear any updates until the next game is already back online.

FromSoftware is still currently enjoying the massive success of Elden Ring, which has already become one of the top 10 bestselling games of all time in the U.S.

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Jesse Lennox has been a writer at Digital Trends for over four years and has no plans of stopping. He covers all things…

Gaming

Elden Ring’s first significant post-launch content is a PvP Colosseum

Four players fight in an Elden Ring colosseum.

Bandai Namco Entertainment and FromSoftware have confirmed that multiple PvP Colosseums will be added to Elden Ring as part of an update on December 7.
Although Elden Ring is the best-selling and most critically acclaimed game of 2022, its post-launch patches have primarily been focused on balance tweaks and bug fixes. Update 1.08, which drops on December 7, changes that by adding a new way for players to duel each other. Colosseums will now appear in Limgrave, Leyndell, and Caelid, where players can face off against each other. There will be three match types: 1v1 duels, 3v3 team fights, and free-for-alls where only one player can come out on top.
The update will be free to Elden Ring owners across all platforms, and a new trailer gives us a look at these new arenas and the fights that take place within them.
ELDEN RING | Free Colosseum Update Trailer
The Colosseums look like fun places for players to test new character builds, show their builds off to others, and test their skills against really experienced players. It seems like this is strictly PvP-focused content though, so players yearning for more single-player content of DLC won't be satiated just yet. Still, this is one of our first very clear indications that FromSoftware and Bandai Namco Entertainment are interested in adding significant, brand-new content to Elden Ring, which is a good sign.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. The Colosseums will be added as part of Elden Ring Update 1.08, which is set to release on December 7.

Gaming

Dark Souls Remastered PC servers are back online for the first time since January

A player looks at messages in Dark Souls.

Bandai Namco Entertainment and FromSoftware have finally restored online functionality for Dark Souls Remastered on PC today. The game's PC servers have been offline since January of this year when a dangerous exploit was discovered.
The PC versions of Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition, Dark Souls Remastered, Dark Souls 2, and Dark Souls 3 had a remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability, which in the worst cases could potentially allow someone to take control of another Dark Souls player's PC. To prevent that from happening, Bandai Namco and FromSoftware shut down online servers for all four games on January 23. A statement a couple of weeks later claimed that "online services for the Dark Souls series on PC will not resume until after the release of Elden Ring," but the wait ended up being much longer than expected.
Dark Souls 3 servers weren't back online until August, over seven months after the initial shutdown, while Dark Souls 2's online functionality wasn't restored until October. Now, Dark Souls Remastered's online features are finally live again, so PC players can leave messages, summon their friends, or invade other players' worlds again. Unfortunately, one version of the original Dark Souls on PC won't get its online features back.
https://twitter.com/DarkSoulsGame/status/1590286846465933312
In October, Bandai Namco Entertainment and FromSoftware confirmed that online functionality for Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition (the original PC release) will never be restored. "We have determined that we will not be able to support online services for the PC version of Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition that was released in 2012, due to an aging system," a tweet explains. "We apologize for the long wait and ask for your understanding in this matter. Our sincere thanks to the people who have been playing Dark Souls since its launch."
Regardless, Dark Souls fans can take solace in the fact that the wait is finally over, and versions of all 3 Dark Souls games can be played online on PC again.

Gaming

Elden Ring is far from perfect, and Demon’s Souls helped me see why

The protagonist of Demon's Souls going up against a massive creature.

Prior to 2022, I was what you might call a “Dark Souls hater.” I just couldn’t find the fun in acclaimed FromSoftware games like Bloodborne, which left me raging without giving me the sense of reward die-hard fans feel when they slay a tough boss. So, it came as a shock when I fell in love with Elden Ring earlier this year. Its open-world structure cracked the subgenre wide open for me, allowing me to better understand the appeal.

Demon's Souls - Announcement Trailer | PS5