If you tried to summon a friend or invade a stranger in Dark Souls 2 or Dark Souls 3 since October 30, it wasn't you. FromSoftware has taken the game servers for both games offline on every platform, and it hasn't said why or when they'll be back.
FromSoftware made the announcement in a post on X, which PC Gamer dates to October 30; GamesRadar+ also reported on the post. Xarmo couldn't check that post directly, so everything below about what FromSoftware said comes from those two outlets' reporting. PC Gamer's story credits Eurogamer's earlier report, so the two accounts may not be fully independent of each other.
What FromSoftware said
GamesRadar+ quotes the post: "Due to a server issue, the game servers for the following titles will be temporarily unavailable on all platforms," followed by a list naming Dark Souls 2 and Dark Souls 3. The studio added, per GamesRadar+, "We will provide updates once we have information regarding the server restoration time," and "We apologize for the inconvenience."
That's the whole explanation. Both outlets say FromSoftware gave no reason for the shutdown and no timeline for bringing the servers back. GamesRadar+ noted that, around eight hours after the post, no update had followed.
What's switched off
PC Gamer reports that the shutdown takes out the series' online features: invasions, co-op and the messages players leave for each other. It also says the outage covers every platform each game is on, which is the detail both outlets single out as different from last time.
According to PC Gamer, it's only Dark Souls 2 and 3 that are affected this time around.
The 2022 shadow
Fans have been here before, which is why GamesRadar+ calls the missing timeline "concerning". PC Gamer recalls that in early 2022, on the eve of Elden Ring's release, a remote code execution vulnerability was discovered in the Dark Souls games, and the series' PC servers were shut down for months as a result. GamesRadar+ describes the same episode: PC servers for Dark Souls Remastered, Dark Souls 2 and Dark Souls 3 went dark for most of that year following security concerns, before all of them eventually came back.
There are two big differences this time. The 2022 shutdown was PC-only, while this one hits all platforms. And in 2022 there was a known security problem behind it; this time nobody has said what the "server issue" actually is.
GamesRadar+ points out that the outage arrives around a week after numerous sites and online services were temporarily taken down following newly discovered PHP vulnerabilities, but stresses that whether that played any role here isn't known. The outlet also notes that separate server maintenance for Dark Souls 2 had wrapped up only a couple of days earlier. Neither outlet links the shutdown to either event, and FromSoftware hasn't either.
PC Gamer's take is cautiously optimistic: because only two games are involved this time, the writer is hopeful the problem is less serious and will take less time to fix. That's a hope, not anything FromSoftware has said.
A workaround on PC
There is one bright spot for PC players. PC Gamer points out that the Seamless Co-op mods by modder Yui run on their own servers, separate from FromSoftware's, so co-op through those mods keeps working while the official servers are down. Dark Souls 2 got its Seamless Co-op version at the end of September, PC Gamer reports, and Dark Souls 3 has had one for a while.
Those mods are a PC thing, and neither outlet reports any similar workaround for console players.
Riley's take: There's an irony here that's very Dark Souls: the games are famous for messages from strangers, and right now the only message anyone has is a single "server issue" with no explanation. A short, quiet outage would be a relief. A 2022-style blackout across every platform would be a real blow to games whose whole personality is other players turning up uninvited. Until FromSoftware posts that update, nobody outside the studio knows which one this is.
Reporting notes