Dark Souls trilogy loses multiplayer tags on Steam, prompting fears of permanent server outages

News
By
published

Servers went down in January, and there's been little word since

Dark Souls
(Image credit: FromSoftware)

Mentions of online multiplayer or co-op functionality appears to have been removed from all three Dark Souls games on PC.

As spotted by The OuterHaven, the Steam entries for Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition, Dark Souls Remastered, Dark Souls 2, and Dark Souls 3 now list 'Single-player' as a category, but there's no sign of the 'Online Co-op' and 'Online PvP' categorisations that they originally had.

While those categorizations are no longer in place, the games' descriptions still make reference to online functionality. Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition mentions a "PvP arena & online matchmaking system," while Dark Souls 2 still offers an "updated multiplayer system" with "improved online interaction to bring forward cooperative & competitive play. The most recent chronological game in the series, Dark Souls 3, doesn't refer to any multiplayer options, but 2018's Dark Souls Remastered promises multiplayer for "up to 6 players with dedicated servers."

It's not clear why the categories have been removed from the games' listings, but it's likely to link to the Dark Souls security exploit that pulled servers for the three most recent titles offline earlier this year. Back in January, Bandai Namco said PvP servers would be "temporarily deactivated to allow the team to investigate recent reports of an issue with online services." On February 9, Bandai Namco and developer FromSoftware said that those services wouldn't return until after the launch of Elden Ring, but more than a month after that game released, there's been no word from either party.

That has some fans concerned that the multiplayer features might never be coming back. A similar fate befell the LittleBigPlanet community last autumn, leading to the PS3 servers being permanently shut down. With Bandai Namco and FromSoft's attention likely now firmly on Elden Ring, there might be little rationale for bringing them back. We've reached out to Bandai Namco for clarification on the matter.

In the meantime, keep your skills sharp with the best Elden Ring builds for either online or offline play.

See more PC Gaming News
CATEGORIES
Ali Jones
Ali Jones
News Editor

I'm GamesRadar's news editor, working with the team to deliver breaking news from across the industry. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I've run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam's latest indie hit.

Read more
Elden Ring's seamless co-op modder takes their talents to Dark Souls 3, letting you "play with friends" from start to finish with "no resummoning or interruptions"
One of Elden Ring's best mods comes to Dark Souls 3 as a prolific FromSoftware modder gets seamless co-op up and running
Elden Ring Nightreign screenshot which displays three unique character builds engaged in combat against a hellish creature
Is Elden Ring Nightreign crossplay?
Elden Ring Nightreign screenshot showing a monstrous, terrifyingly large enemy
Elden Ring Nightreign is saying goodbye to FromSoftware's beloved messaging system
Elden Ring Nightreign screenshot showing Night Rain creeping across the map as night falls
Can you play Elden Ring Nightreign solo?
Elden Ring Nightreign
Elden Ring Nightreign network test starts with a stumble as PlayStation servers go down for maintenance just as it begins
Latest in Dark Souls
Love Nikki character wearing Dark Souls 3 helmet
There's a whole world of Dark Souls-style lore hidden in this series of dress-up games, and I bet you can't tell which is which
Elden Ring screenshot showing Ranni, a young woman with pale ice-y blue skin and a large brimmed witch-like hat
The Elden Ring anime made entirely by fans of the RPG is almost here, and even Let Me Solo Her can't wait: "They're honestly cooking up something amazing"
One of Elden Ring's best mods comes to Dark Souls 3 as a prolific FromSoftware modder gets seamless co-op up and running
Elden Ring screenshot showing Ranni, a young woman with pale ice-y blue skin and a large brimmed witch-like hat
Elden Ring and Dark Souls dataminer "overwhelmed" as community clubs together to cover "a looming $15,000 in medical expenses" in a single afternoon
Dark Souls 3
After almost 2 years of attempts, Dark Souls legend completes his brutal 7-game "God Run 3": Demon's Souls to Elden Ring without taking a single hit, all at level 1
Elden Ring Nightreign Wylder warrior
Rejoice! Elden Ring Nightreign has a feature that FromSoftware fans have wanted for years: a DPS test dummy in the hub
Latest in News
Balatro
Balatro creator started "properly playing the game myself about a week before launch" and had "a pretty emotional moment" where he realized it's "actually fun"
Death Stranding 2 Collector's Edition
Hideo Kojima reveals Death Stranding 2: On the Beach release date, and the Collector's Edition includes exactly what I predicted it would
Kingmakers
Kingmakers is a strategy game about taking on medieval armies with a gun, but its devs thought the giant mech was too much
The Witcher 3 lead says "not many games" were trying to match the RPG back in 2015, and that meant "there was a risk" to making it in the first place
The Blood of Dawnwalker
The Witcher 3 dev says his new vampire RPG Blood of Dawnwalker wants to challenge genre conventions, but only if "we're changing them to actually achieve some goal"
Daredevil recap: The Defenders
Marvel fans are discussing which of the Netflix series characters would have survived the Blip
More about dark souls
Love Nikki character wearing Dark Souls 3 helmet

There's a whole world of Dark Souls-style lore hidden in this series of dress-up games, and I bet you can't tell which is which
Elden Ring screenshot showing Ranni, a young woman with pale ice-y blue skin and a large brimmed witch-like hat

The Elden Ring anime made entirely by fans of the RPG is almost here, and even Let Me Solo Her can't wait: "They're honestly cooking up something amazing"
Balatro

Balatro creator started "properly playing the game myself about a week before launch" and had "a pretty emotional moment" where he realized it's "actually fun"
See more latest
Most Popular
Balatro
Balatro creator started "properly playing the game myself about a week before launch" and had "a pretty emotional moment" where he realized it's "actually fun"
Death Stranding 2 Collector's Edition
Hideo Kojima reveals Death Stranding 2: On the Beach release date, and the Collector's Edition includes exactly what I predicted it would
Kingmakers
Kingmakers is a strategy game about taking on medieval armies with a gun, but its devs thought the giant mech was too much
The Witcher 3 lead says "not many games" were trying to match the RPG back in 2015, and that meant "there was a risk" to making it in the first place
The Blood of Dawnwalker
The Witcher 3 dev says his new vampire RPG Blood of Dawnwalker wants to challenge genre conventions, but only if "we're changing them to actually achieve some goal"
Daredevil recap: The Defenders
Marvel fans are discussing which of the Netflix series characters would have survived the Blip
A misty, forested mountainside in Prologue: Go Wayback!
PUBG creator's wilderness survival game actually draws inspiration from an unexpected place - a whole raft of zombie games like DayZ, Project Zomboid, and Left 4 Dead
The Blood of Dawnwalker: A screenshot of the vampire Brencis holding up a crown during the trailer for the upcoming game.
The Witcher 3 devs created a Jekyll & Hyde-style character for their new vampire RPG "because nobody yet has done that"
Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock in Daredevil: Born Again
Daredevil fans are wondering if Born Again season 2 will set up a darker comic book arc for Matt Murdock
Theo James as Hal in Osgood Perkins' The Monkey
It might only be March, but Stephen King adaptation The Monkey is now the highest grossing horror movie of 2025