Dark Souls 2 PC servers are back, but Prepare to Die multiplayer is gone forever

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The original PC Dark Souls' servers are too old to be brought back to life

Dark Souls 2
(Image credit: FromSoftware)

Multiplayer servers for Dark Souls 2 are back online after nearly ten months of downtime, but publisher Bandai Namco says that the original game's multiplayer can't be brought back.

In a tweet earlier today, the official Dark Souls account confirmed that "online features for the PC version of Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin have been reactivated." While the expanded edition of the game is now back online, the base game will follow "at a later date."

While Dark Souls 2 is on its way back (following on from Dark Souls 3 last month), long-term fans may find themselves disappointed by a follow-up announcement. Bandai also revealed that "we have determined that we will not be able to support online services for the PC version of Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition that was released in 2012, due to an aging system."

That certainly tracks - Prepare to Die is pretty janky nowadays, and its ailing multiplayer features would likely have required significantly more work to bring online, a cost weighed against its dramatically smaller player-base. Bandai says that "work on the restoration of online services for the PC version of Dark Souls Remastered is still underway," with more information promised "when they return."

Back in January, Dark Souls servers were pulled offline for the entire trilogy following a security issue that threatened the launch of Elden Ring. Bandai Namco and FromSoftware have been working to gradually bring servers back since May, and it seems that progress is finally speeding up. 

If you're still making your way through The Lands Between, you might find that Elden Ring's new game+ is quite the victory lap.

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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.

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