The multiplayer tags were there before but are now gone
Update: After speaking with one of my colleagues, I felt I should elaborate on this article. The section on the Steam pages lists the games’ features, which I’ve highlighted in the images below, and has been updated. As for when those were updated, it’s hard to say. You can’t check the Steam pages via a caching service or Wayback Machine, as they have age verification. So they can’t be cached like most pages are.
On those pages, online is still mentioned in the descriptions, only with other features of the games. However, I felt that those were missed and that there had to be some sort of backend process that ultimately resulted in the stages being updated. Whatever the reason, we still have yet to hear back from Bandai Namco on the Dark Souls PC server situation.
Original story:
Yesterday, we reported on the ongoing status of the Dark Souls PC servers and the lack of updates from Bandai Namco. In doing so, we were notified by several people that Bandai Namco has quietly been making updates to all of the Dark Souls games on Steam. When I took a look at this for myself, sure enough, they were correct.
Where the Dark Souls PC games had multiplayer tags that listed “Online Co-op” and “Online PVP,” features, those features games pages. With the Dark Souls PC servers being offline for over two months now, I suppose having those features listed under those games would be a stretch. Still, for the company to make those changes without making any public announcement feels wrong.
Dark Souls III
Dark Souls II
Dark Souls: Remastered
When I, along with thousands of other players, purchased any of the currently available Dark Souls games on PC, we did so knowing what was included. With the servers being down, and now the mention of services that require those servers being removed. Are we still getting the product that we paid for? This is starting to feel like the Cyberpunk 2077 incident again in terms of not being transparent.
Again, we’ve gone two months without any announcement of the status of the Dark Souls servers. While Bandai Namco is happy to announce that Elden Ring and its other titles are doing great, we Dark Souls players are being ignored. I’d have no problem with the company if they would at least give us an update – even saying “we don’t have an ETA” would be fine. Simply saying nothing is terrible in my book.
With Bandai Namco removing the mentions of these services, it feels like there’s no plan to bring back the Dark Souls PC servers. Or at least, that’s the impression I get, and I’m not the only one. As much as I enjoy Elden Ring, the Dark Souls games have a special place in my hollowed heart. In Elden Ring, you’re capped to just four players, while in Dark Souls III, you can experience those yummy six-player invasions.
As for when the Dark Souls PC servers will come back, that’s anyone’s guess. I suppose at this point; we should start asking ourselves, are they even coming back at all.
Lastly, I know that many of you are likely tired of me talking about Dark Souls and following this story. To that, I say, sorry… not sorry.
