Dark Souls will never have PC multiplayer ever again

Dark Souls 1 multiplayer is gone forever, but there’s still a way to summon friends and duel foes in the land of Lordran.

On October 25, 2022, developer FromSoftware announced that the multiplayer features for Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition will be permanently shuttered. The reveal comes after months of downtime to a malicious multiplayer exploit. However, it is still possible to play Dark Souls multiplayer still isn’t gone for good

According to FromSoftware’s official statement from the game’s Steam page, the exploit affecting Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition was It’s possible that the exploit was baked so deep into the system that fixing it would require completely redeveloping the game’s online functions. Prepare to Die attracted around 300 average players before multiplayer was taken down while Remastered boasts nearly 1,000 in late 2022.

“…we are no longer able to provide this service, due to the aging of the system. We apologize for the long wait and ask for your understanding in this matter. We would also like to thank all of our players who have played the game for so long since its launch,” FromSoftware said.

Servers for Dark Souls were taken down weeks before the launch of Elden Ring after malicious players discovered an RCE exploit to run code on other players’ computers. This kind of attack could seriously harm or even destroy a computer, so FromSoftware took them down with the intent of later restoring them.

While Dark Souls 2 and 3’s online features are back online for PC, Prepare to Die will never have online multiplayer again.

How to still play Dark Souls 1 multiplayer

While the original PC version of Dark Souls multiplayer is gone for good, fans can still play multiplayer on console versions and the 

Dark Souls 1 multiplayer servers are still online for all console versions of the game. Players who have the original release on Xbox 360, Xbox One, Playstation 3, or PlayStation 4 can continue playing as normal.

The only way to play Dark Souls online on PC is on the Remastered version of the game which was released in May of 2018. That version of the game is available on PC as well as both major home consoles.

As for players stuck on Prepare to Die edition, their only option is to use NPC summons and fight computer-controlled invaders. For bosses that don’t have a summons, players have no other choice but to get good.