Dark Souls 3 PC Servers Reactivated After 7 Months

After seven months of no Dark Souls 3 online play, From Software has finally reactivated the game's servers, although there's no word on Dark Souls 1 or 2 yet.


Published: August 25, 2022 8:32 AM /

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The player and a summoned spirit battling the Dancer of the Boreal Valley boss, maybe even on the Dark Souls 3 PC servers

From Software has announced that the Dark Souls 3 PC servers are back online after a period of seven months of inactivity. The studio says it's working on reactivating servers for the other two Dark Souls games as well, but for now, you can head back into the world of Lothric and battle with your friends once more.

Why were the Dark Souls 3 PC servers originally deactivated?

Back in January, From Software took the Dark Souls 3 PC servers, along with servers for Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2, down owing to an RCE exploit that had been discovered. This exploit allowed hackers to gain access to other players' machines, brick them, and execute malware, among other things. From Software subsequently announced that servers for the games would remain offline beyond the launch of February's Elden Ring, partly so that the studio could investigate that game's servers as well.

The player battling a Knight of Lothric against the backdrop of Lothric Castle in Dark Souls 3, intended to represent the Dark Souls 3 PC servers being reactivated
You can once again hop into the brutal, deadly world of Lothric in Dark Souls 3 alongside your friends (or enemies).

Now, however, From Software has announced that Dark Souls 3 PC servers have been reactivated, so it's once again possible to engage in cooperative and competitive multiplayer on the PC version of the game. The studio says it's currently working to restore online functionality to the other games in the Dark Souls series; servers for Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2 remain inactive for the moment, but From Software says it will inform players when they are back online.

Is online play on Elden Ring affected by this issue?

Nope. You can freely play online alongside other players in Elden Ring, so the Dark Souls PC server issue hasn't affected that game. However, there have been murmurs that Elden Ring RCE exploits do exist, despite From Software's claims that it has patched out any potential breaches. If you're playing the game on consoles, this problem is unlikely to affect you, but if you are engaging in Elden Ring multiplayer on PC, make sure to exercise as much caution as you can.

The player on horseback gazing out at the open world of the Lands Between and the imposing shape of the Erdtree in Elden Ring
If you're playing Elden Ring online, the Dark Souls PC server outage shouldn't affect you.

You can pick up Dark Souls 3 on PC right now via Steam, and it's also available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One (and current-gen machines via backward compatibility). If you haven't taken the trip into Lothric yet, it's worth doing so if you're a fan of the series, especially now that the PC servers are back online. If you'd prefer to play a more open-ended version of the classic From Software RPG formula, then Elden Ring is also available right now on PC and consoles.

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More Info About This Game
Learn more about Dark Souls III
Game Page Dark Souls III
Developer
FromSoftware
Publisher
Bandai Namco
Platforms
Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC
Release Date
April 12, 2016 (Calendar)
Genre
Action RPG
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