Dark Souls 2 and 3 servers down: what has happened
Dark Souls 2 and 3 servers down: that is the situation on every platform. On October 30, 2026, FromSoftware posted that the game servers for Dark Souls II and Dark Souls III are temporarily unavailable, blaming an unspecified 'server issue' and giving no date for their return. Online features such as co-op summons, invasions and messages rely on those servers, so the multiplayer side of both games is offline until the studio says otherwise.
The notice came in two parts. According to Inven Global, a Japanese-language announcement was posted first, at 12:01 AM PT, followed by the English version at 1:45 AM PT. Both apologise for the inconvenience, and neither explains what the fault is. That absence is the single most important fact in the story: nothing in the official wording says the problem is minor, and nothing says it is serious.
What FromSoftware actually said
The English post reads, in full as quoted by Inven Global: 'Due to a server issue, the game servers for the following titles will be temporarily unavailable on all platforms.' It then promises that 'We will provide updates once we have information regarding the server restoration time.' The word 'temporarily' is the studio's, and it is the only guidance on duration. There is no estimate in hours, days or weeks.
The two titles named are Dark Souls II and Dark Souls III. The coverage we opened does not say whether Dark Souls: Remastered or the original Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition are affected, so we are not claiming either way. Likewise, neither notice addresses offline play, so we cannot confirm which features, if any, remain available beyond the servers themselves.
“We will provide updates once we have information regarding the server restoration time.”
Why this outage looks different from 2022
Players will remember January 2022. On January 23 of that year, the official Dark Souls account deactivated PvP servers for Dark Souls III, Dark Souls II and Dark Souls: Remastered on PC, citing 'an issue with online services'. That shutdown was limited to PC. The current one is not: FromSoftware says all platforms, which means consoles are included this time.
That difference cuts both ways. A problem that spans platforms may point to a shared back end rather than a PC-only vulnerability, but it also means more players are affected and any fix has to cover more systems. We have no evidence on the cause, and speculation that circulates after an outage is not reporting, so we will not repeat it here.
How long the 2022 shutdown lasted
The precedent is a long one. According to Inven Global's account of the 2022 outage, Dark Souls III on PC got its online features back on August 25, 2022, more than seven months after the shutdown began. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin followed on October 25, 2022, and Dark Souls: Remastered on PC was reactivated on November 9, 2022, so the full recovery took roughly ten months.
One service never came back. Online play for the 2012 PC release of Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition stayed off, with the account blaming 'an aging system'. The lesson for anyone planning around the current outage is that 'temporary' has meant very different things for different games in this series, and that a staged return is possible.
What it means for players right now
If you play Dark Souls 2 or 3 for co-op or invasions, the practical answer is to wait for FromSoftware's updates, which it says will come through its official channels. Do not pay for third-party fixes or follow 'restore' guides from unofficial sources, and Messages, bloodstains and summon signs all depend on the same online services, so none of them will work for now.
For anyone buying, the timing is awkward. We have not checked storefront listings, so we cannot say whether either game's page carries a warning. A buyer today would be purchasing a game with its online half unavailable for an unknown period, so we recommend checking for any new notice before buying purely for multiplayer.
What to watch next
Three things will tell us how serious this is. First, whether FromSoftware names a cause when it posts its next update. Second, whether Dark Souls: Remastered or the older PC release is added to the notice. Third, whether the return is staged by platform, as in 2022. Any of these would change how long to expect the outage to run.
We will update this report only with confirmed information from FromSoftware or Bandai Namco. If you want the background on the games themselves, our Dark Souls games in order guide covers every release, and the original notices were posted on FromSoftware's official X account. We could not open those posts directly, so the wording here is as quoted by Inven Global, which links them. Because the only verified detail is the notice itself, this report is shorter than a typical news piece: there is little confirmed reporting beyond it, and we chose not to pad it.
Frequently asked
Are the Dark Souls 2 and 3 servers down?
Yes. FromSoftware announced on October 30, 2026 that the game servers for Dark Souls II and Dark Souls III are temporarily unavailable on all platforms because of a 'server issue'. The studio has given no cause and no return date, and says it will provide updates once it has information on the restoration time. Online features such as co-op and invasions depend on those servers.
When will the Dark Souls 2 and 3 servers come back?
Nobody outside FromSoftware knows. Its notice says only that the servers are 'temporarily' unavailable and promises updates once it has information about restoration. The January 2022 shutdown is the closest precedent: Dark Souls III on PC returned August 25, 2022 and Dark Souls II on October 25, 2022, so a return could take far longer than days.
What caused the Dark Souls server shutdown?
FromSoftware has not said. Its English and Japanese notices cite only a 'server issue' and an apology for the inconvenience. Reports and player theories about security vulnerabilities are unconfirmed, and we have found no official statement supporting any specific cause. We will update this article if the studio or Bandai Namco explains what went wrong.
Which platforms are affected by the Dark Souls 2 and 3 outage?
All platforms, per FromSoftware's notice. That differs from January 2022, when the shutdown of PvP servers for Dark Souls III, Dark Souls II and Dark Souls: Remastered affected PC only. The coverage we opened does not say whether Dark Souls: Remastered is part of the current outage, so check the official announcements for the latest list of titles.
Did the 2022 Dark Souls shutdown ever end?
Mostly yes. Dark Souls III online features on PC returned August 25, 2022, Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin on October 25, 2022, and Dark Souls: Remastered on PC on November 9, 2022. The 2012 PC release, Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition, did not return, with the official account citing an 'aging system'.
Can I still play Dark Souls 2 and 3 offline?
FromSoftware's notice concerns the game servers and does not say whether offline play is affected, so we cannot confirm a state of offline features from the studio. The notice names only server availability. Check the official FromSoftware announcements on X, and try launching your copy offline, before assuming anything about single-player access.