Dark Souls is one of the most popular and influential franchises of the Xbox 360 and PS3 console generation. It has led to the birth of an entirely new genre, and many developers have been inspired by From Software’s design philosophies.
While hacking is a part of a fair number of multiplayer games on PC, players had recently discovered a dangerous new exploit in the online component of Dark Souls 3. Reportedly, it could allow hackers to gain access to private information, in addition to bricking computers and running programs in the background. It’s an extremely serious problem and users were warned not to play Dark Souls 3 online. Bandai Namco was made aware of this issue, and the development team has now taken further steps to ensure that this hack does not affect any more players.
The official Twitter account for Dark Souls confirms that PvP servers for Dark Souls: Remastered, Dark Souls 2, and Dark Souls 3 have been temporarily deactivated. The team is currently investigating the aforementioned issue, and it also states that servers for Dark Souls: Prepare To Die Edition will be going offline in a short while. However, PvP servers for Dark Souls games on consoles remain unaffected, and the problem is limited to the online component of the PC version.
Most of the replies to the Tweet consist of fans thanking the developers and emphasizing the gravity of the situation. People are also hoping that this Dark Souls hack will not be present in Elden Ring. It does seem like the hacking issue has been going on for some time now, and it is unfortunate that this problem had supposedly been left unresolved until it became a serious threat.
PvP and co-op are a huge part of the Dark Souls franchise, and these games have managed to maintain an active community for years after release. While Sekiro was a single-player game, fans can expect Elden Ring’s online community to remain active for many years.
Elden Ring launches next month and it's undoubtedly one of the most anticipated games of the year. From Software had allowed players to get their hands on the game during a network test in November, and the reception was almost universally positive. Elden Ring takes ideas from the Dark Souls formula and combines them with an open world, where players can spend hours exploring the gorgeous land.
Dark Souls 3 is now available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.