Dark Souls maker fixing dangerous PC exploit, looking at impact on Elden Ring

Dark Souls series developer FromSoftware and publisher Bandai Namco offered fans an update on Wednesday on the dangerous exploit found in the Windows PC version of the games, which led to the temporary closure of player-versus-player multiplayer across multiple titles. The teams said they have “identified the cause and are working on fixing the issue,” but that competitive multiplayer won’t return to Dark Souls, Dark Souls 2, and Dark Souls 3 on PC until after the release of FromSoftware’s next game, Elden Ring.

Elden Ring launches Feb. 25, and fans have expressed concern that the remote code execution (RCE) exploit discovered in the Dark Souls games on PC could also be present in From’s next game. That exploit could have been used to send malicious code to another person’s computer, shutting down systems or stealing sensitive data.

From and Bandai Namco said they have extended their investigation into the exploit to Elden Ring “and have made sure the necessary security measures are in place for this title on all target platforms.”

For now, Dark Souls players on PC will have to forego PvP play for an indefinite period of time.

“Due to the time required to set up proper testing environments, online services for the Dark Souls series on PC will not resume until after the release of Elden Ring,” the Dark Souls team said on the series’ official Twitter account. “We will continue to do everything we can to bring back these services as soon as possible. We will make an announcement as soon as the schedule is determined for resuming online services.”

The RCE exploit discovered in the Dark Souls games does not appear to extend to the console versions of each title. Elden Ring is coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.