FromSoftware temporarily shuts down the multiplayer modes of Dark Souls 2 and Dark Souls 3 due to a server issue.

Background: The 2022 Server Shock Still Shapes the Situation

FromSoftware's online Dark Souls infrastructure has a history of abrupt shutdowns. In early 2022, on the eve of Elden Ring's release, a catastrophic remote code execution vulnerability was discovered across the Dark Souls games. The result was severe: PC servers for the series were shut down for months. That earlier incident set a precedent for how quickly FromSoftware can pull online services from its back catalogue when a server-side problem is discovered.

Development: October 30 Brings a New Multiplayer Blackout for Dark Souls 2 and 3

As reported by Eurogamer, FromSoftware has shut down multiplayer in Dark Souls 2 and Dark Souls 3 for an indeterminate amount of time because of an undisclosed "server issue." The company shared the news in an October 30 post on X, described as "The Everything App."

The affected modes are invasions, co-op, and messages. Unlike the 2022 incident, which took PC servers offline, this shutdown affects all platforms for each respective game. The company said it would provide an updated timeline for server restoration once it had more information.

The scope is narrower in one important way: the current outage covers only Dark Souls 2 and Dark Souls 3, not the entire series. It is broader in another: all platforms are involved, not just PC. That combination gives some hope that the issue may be less serious and take less time to resolve than the months-long PC shutdown from 2022.

Latest Progress: Official Online Play Is Paused, but Modded Co-op Still Works

For PC players, official multiplayer is unavailable for the moment, but there is a workaround. Modder Yui's Seamless Co-op series runs on its own servers, separate from the official FromSoftware servers, so co-op play can continue if players use the mod.

Seamless Co-op lets players go through the games together with friends, with shared progress and no disconnects on death or defeat of a boss. Dark Souls 2 finally received the Seamless Co-op treatment at the end of September, while Dark Souls 3 had already been supported for some time. The original report also said the author was playing Dark Souls 2 in Seamless Co-op alongside PC Gamer colleagues Tyler Colp and Sean Martin.

Current Stage: Waiting on FromSoftware's Next Update

As of the October 30 announcement, Dark Souls 2 and 3 remain offline for invasions, co-op, and messages on all platforms, with no restored timeline provided. The only confirmed path forward is waiting for FromSoftware to publish more information. Meanwhile, PC players who use the Seamless Co-op mod can still play together through separate servers.