FromSoftware has temporarily disabled the online services for Dark Souls II and Dark Souls 3 on PC, PlayStation and Xbox. The developer announced the shutdown on Oct. 30, citing an unspecified server issue.
The outage removes the multiplayer and communication features that connect players in the two role-playing games. Cooperative sessions, invasions and messages placed in the environment are unavailable while the services are offline.
What remains available
The single-player campaigns remain playable. Players can still progress through both games without connecting to the online services, although the multiplayer systems and player-created messages are currently unavailable.
- Dark Souls II: online services are temporarily offline.
- Dark Souls 3: online services are temporarily offline.
- Platforms: PC, PlayStation and Xbox.
- Offline play: single-player campaigns remain available.
The shutdown is limited in the announcement to Dark Souls II and Dark Souls 3. Both games remain listed for sale on Steam, and the titles continue to be part of FromSoftware's Dark Souls catalog.
A previous multiplayer shutdown
FromSoftware previously took Dark Souls multiplayer services offline in January 2022, when it disabled multiplayer on the PC versions of the trilogy after a serious security vulnerability was discovered. That interruption was restored in stages.
The PC servers for Dark Souls 3 returned in August 2022, followed by Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin in October 2022 and Dark Souls Remastered in November 2022. The current announcement attributes the new interruption to a server issue.
FromSoftware has not announced a date for the return of the affected online features. Until services are restored, players on the listed platforms can access the games' offline content while cooperative play, invasions and messages remain unavailable.
