Dark Souls 2 players can once again team up and square off against each other on PC after FromSoftware reactivated the servers. The studio and publisher Bandai Namco switched off the online components for all Dark Souls games on PC back in January in order to tackle a security issue that allowed hijackers to take over players’ systems. Nine months later, From and Bandai Namco have restored online features for the DirectX 11 version of Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin. The company said it will reactivate the servers for the DirectX 9 version at a later date.
On the downside, don’t expect to play the online modes of the Dark Souls: Prepare to Die edition on PC again. “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 statement on the Dark Souls Twitter account, as spotted by Polygon, reads. “We apologize for the long wait and ask for your understanding in this matter.” That said, work is ongoing to bring back co-op and player-vs-player modes for 2018’s Dark Souls Remastered on PC, but there’s no timeline for that as yet.
As for Dark Souls 3, From and Bandai Namco restored the servers back in August. They originally aimed to revive online services for all the Dark Souls games by the time they released Elden Ring in February, but were unsuccessful in their attempts to meet that deadline.
Online features for the PC version of Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin (DX11) have been reactivated.
Online features for the base version of #DarkSouls II for PC (DX9) will be made available at a later date.
Our thanks for your continued patience and support. pic.twitter.com/OihQUJOIbu
— Dark Souls (@DarkSoulsGame) October 25, 2022