Dark Souls 3 PC Servers Back Online After Addressing Security Concerns
FromSoftware and Bandai Namco, publishers of Dark Souls 3, online PC players’ online services, have been restored seven months after being taken offline. After reports of a security flaw in many Souls titles, the servers were shut down last January.
After community concerns about a remote code execution threat (RCE), the PC servers for Dark Souls 3 and Dark Souls 2 were shut down earlier in the year. Souls security experts stated that they had reported the vulnerability to Bandai Namco many years ago. After being silenced, one of the code’s developers demonstrated the exploit, and Bandai Namco took its Souls versions offline.
After a series of quiet updates in the past few months, it seems that the game is now a bit safer. Bandai Namco has announced Dark Souls 3 as the first game to be back online since January’s demonstration. The official account Twittered the announcement and noted that updates were being made for other titles.
A representative from Dark Souls stated that “online features for the PC version” of Dark Souls III were reactivated. We are currently working to restore these features in all #DarkSouls titles. When they are available, we will let you know. We are grateful for your patience, support, and understanding once again.
After initial RCE reports caused a more terrific uproar, official Dark Souls communications remained unclear. Bandai Namco and FromSoftware referred to the exploits as “technical problems” but did not acknowledge the seriousness of the threat. According to cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, RCEs are “one of the most dangerous types of computer vulnerabilities.” Reports of an RCE are the most alarming.
FromSoftware has since launched 2022’s most significant game, Elden Ring. After promising that “necessary security precautions are in place,” FromSoftware also pledged that all platforms would be protected. It’s impressive to see Elden Ring learn and improve from Dark Souls’ mistakes. The communication with players was slow and a poor experience. Even the vague acknowledgement wasn’t helpful. Let’s hope that we all have learned something and that FromSoftware’s other Souls titles can be brought back online without too many headaches.
