Dark Souls servers stay offline over security flaw

The Dark Souls servers are down because of a security flaw. FromSoftware has confirmed that it shut down the Dark Souls II and Dark Souls III servers on all platforms on October 30, with no return date. Offline play still works.

The studio's first message only mentioned a "server issue." A formal notice published on November 2 gave the real reason: a security vulnerability was found on the game servers. That suggests the wait could be a long one.

Why were the Dark Souls servers shut down?

The notice, posted on the official Dark Souls series site in Japanese and English, says the game servers were suspended "due to identified security vulnerabilities." FromSoftware apologized to players and thanked them for their patience. The FromSoftware Player Support account shared the same notice on X on November 2.

According to the notice, the shutdown started on Friday, October 30, 2026 at 16:00 Japan time, which is 07:00 UTC. The end date is listed as "until further notice."

The order of the messages is worth noting. The first Japanese post went out at 07:01 UTC on October 30 and said a problem had been found on the game servers. The English post followed about 100 minutes later. The words "security vulnerability" only appeared three days later, in the formal notice on November 2.

We first reported the outage in our Dark Souls servers down story, when FromSoftware had not yet given a reason.

Which games and modes are affected?

Only two games are named in the notice: Dark Souls II and Dark Souls III. The suspension applies to every platform. Dark Souls: Remastered is not on the list.

• Affected games: Dark Souls II and Dark Souls III
• Affected platforms: all
• Not working: online play
• Still working: offline play
• Start: October 30, 2026, 07:00 UTC
• End: until further notice

As Insider Gaming points out, online play is still a big part of both games. Players summon each other for co-op, invade other worlds and set up duels. None of that works while the servers are offline.

What can players do in the meantime?

For now, the only option is to play offline. You can keep going through the single-player game without losing progress. For online features, you will need to wait for the next update from FromSoftware. Following the Player Support account on X and the official Dark Souls site is the quickest way to hear when service returns.

How long could the outage last?

FromSoftware has not given a timeline. Fixing a security vulnerability can take longer than recovering from a simple server fault, because the studio needs to deal with the root cause and not just restart the servers. So a quick return may not be realistic. Still, there is no official estimate, and it is too early to guess.

For another recent online change that hit players hard, read our Helldivers 2 Easy Anti-Cheat story. We will update this article when FromSoftware shares more.

Frequently asked questions

Why are the Dark Souls servers down?

FromSoftware's official notice from November 2 says a security vulnerability was found on the game servers for Dark Souls II and Dark Souls III. The servers were shut down on all platforms.

When will the Dark Souls servers come back?

There is no date yet. The notice says the suspension started on October 30 and runs until further notice. FromSoftware says it will share an update once it has a restoration time.

Can you still play Dark Souls III offline?

Yes. FromSoftware says offline play is still possible while the servers are down. Only online play is affected.

Sources

• Official Dark Souls site: game server suspension notice
• FromSoftware Player Support on X, November 2
• FromSoftware Player Support on X, October 30
• Insider Gaming: Dark Souls 2 & 3 Servers Shut Down Indefinitely