FromSoftware has pulled the plug on online play in Dark Souls II and Dark Souls III. On October 30, the studio's support account, FROMSOFTWARE PLAYER SUPPORT, said it had "discovered an issue with the game servers" for both games and was taking them down "across all platforms." There's no return date. The company says it will announce a recovery timeline "as soon as" it has one.
Per GAME Watch, the servers went down around 16:00 Japan time on October 30. That's 12 AM Pacific, 3 AM Eastern. AUTOMATON notes players were already reporting connection trouble before the notice went up.
What's affected
Everything online in both games, on PC, PlayStation and Xbox. That means co-op summons, invasions, covenants, messages, bloodstains and the ghosts of other players running past your bonfire. Dark Souls II covers the original release and Scholar of the First Sin, since the notice says all platforms.
The notice names only those two games. Elden Ring, Dark Souls Remastered, Sekiro and Armored Core VI aren't on the list, and as of this writing there are no widespread reports of trouble with them.
Can I still play?
Yes, offline. Both games run fine without servers; you just lose the messages, summons and invaders. If the games try to connect and complain, set them to offline mode in the network settings and carry on. Your saves are local.
If you were mid-boss with a summon sign in mind, bad luck. The bosses are still there. The help isn't.
Why did it happen?
FromSoftware hasn't said. "Issue" is the full extent of the explanation.
Outlets are filling the gap with context. TheGamer connects it to this month's wave of PHP security scares, which has already knocked Street Fighter V offline and delisted and taken out a couple of smaller online games. That link is speculation for now. FromSoftware hasn't mentioned PHP, security, or hacking. TheGamer also notes that Dark Souls II came out of scheduled maintenance just two days earlier.
How long could this last?
Nobody knows, but the last time is not encouraging. In January 2022, FromSoftware shut down PC servers for Dark Souls Remastered, II and III after a remote code execution exploit let attackers take over other players' PCs through PvP. Per TheGamer, Dark Souls III came back after 214 days, Dark Souls II after 275, and Remastered after 290. Game*Spark dates the returns to August 2022 for III and October 2022 for II's DX11 version.
There are two differences this time. The 2022 shutdown hit PC only; this one covers consoles too. And the cause is unknown, so it could be a quick fix or another half-year wait. FromSoftware has given no hint either way.
Is Dark Souls dead?
No. Both games are fully playable alone, and the studio is calling this a pause with a recovery coming. Recoveries have taken months before. We'll update this when FromSoftware posts a timeline.
The short version
Dark Souls II and III online services are down on all platforms since October 30, 2026. Cause undisclosed, no return date. Single-player still works. The 2022 PC outage ran seven to nine months.
Sources
- FROMSOFTWARE PLAYER SUPPORT (@fromsoftware_sp) on X, Oct 30, 2026
- GAME Watch (Oct 30, 2026)
- AUTOMATON (Oct 30, 2026)
- TheGamer (Oct 30, 2026)
- Game*Spark English (Oct 30, 2026)
Published Oct 30, 2026. Based on FROMSOFTWARE PLAYER SUPPORT's Oct 30 notice on X as quoted by GAME Watch and AUTOMATON, with TheGamer and Game*Spark English reporting. Artwork © FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Entertainment; official Steam assets used editorially only.