Dark Souls PC PvP servers shut following security issue

The PvP servers for Dark Souls: Remastered, Dark Souls 2, and Dark Souls 3 have been temporarily turned off following fears of a security issue that could leave some players' PCs open to hacking.

While neither FromSoftware nor Bandai Namco has formally detailed what's happened, rumors across both the Dark Souls and Elden Ring subreddit suggest that without intervention or a fix, "it is possible for Dark Souls 3 invaders to run code on your PC without permission. AKA RCE, Remote Code Execution. This same hack is possible in Elden Ring".

PvP servers for Dark Souls 3, Dark Souls 2, and Dark Souls: Remastered have been temporarily deactivated to allow the team to investigate recent reports of an issue with online services. Servers for Dark Souls: PtDE will join them shortly.We apologize for this inconvenience.January 23, 2022

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"PvP servers for Dark Souls 3, Dark Souls 2, and Dark Souls: Remastered have been temporarily deactivated to allow the team to investigate recent reports of an issue with online services," explains a notice on the Dark Souls' official Twitter feed earlier today.

"Servers for Dark Souls: PtDE will join them shortly. We apologize for this inconvenience."

The Verge goes further with an explanation, stating that the exploit was first publicized when a streamer was hacked via an RCE during a live broadcast. Though the hacker stopped short of providing evidence, the hacker says they had tried, and failed, to get FromSoftware to take the issue seriously. It seemingly took a livestream hacked in real-time to get either FromSoft or publisher Bandai Namco's attention.

As of Sunday evening UK time there's been no subsequent update, nor confirmation on when the servers made be restored. As always, we'll keep you posted.

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Read up on our new games 2022 guide for a complete look over all the other games launching over the next few months.