Dark Souls is a 2011 action role-playing game released by Namco Bandai Games and developed by FromSoftware. The game is the second edition in the Souls series and is a spiritual successor to FromSoftware's Demon's Souls. Dark Souls is set in the country of Lordran, and players take on the role of a cursed undead character on a journey to learn about their kind's fate. In August 2012, a Microsoft Windows port was published, with new content not seen in the original PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 editions. Artorias of the Abyss was the title given to the content when it was published on consoles in October 2012.

Dark Souls is widely regarded as one of the best video games ever created. The game's combat depth, rich-level design, and use of flavor text were commended by critics. On the other hand, the game's difficulty received mixed reviews, with some condemning it for being excessively harsh. The original Windows version of the game garnered mixed reviews, with various technical flaws being cited. The game had sold over two million copies globally by April 2013. In the mid-2010s, two sequels were produced and a remastered version in 2018.

After months of rumors and unsubstantiated claims of upcoming improvements, FromSoftware has now announced that online servers for the Dark Souls games on PC will be returning. The story begins in the year 2022 when publisher Bandai Namco suspended PvP servers for all Dark Souls titles on PC due to the discovery of a severe security flaw in Dark Souls 3. Bandai and FromSoftware previously stated that the servers would be taken offline until after the release of Elden Ring, with the assumption that service would be restored quickly, but this did not occur. They haven't been seen in four months.

FromSoftware stated, "We are now in the process of restoring the online servers for the Dark Souls series on PC." "We want to gradually restore online service for each game, beginning with Dark Souls 3 servers once we've completed the necessary work to resolve the issue."

"As soon as the restoration schedule is confirmed, we will provide additional updates. We appreciate all of our players' patience and understanding while we try to resolve this issue."The repairs have no timetable, and the comment about bringing back "each game incrementally" is a little confusing: It appears to me that they'll be done in order (1, 2, 3), but the mention of Dark Souls 3 particularly says that it'll be done first—which makes sense given how much more often it's played than the others. But those are minor details: what matters is that it's happening and that it's far enough along that FromSoftware and Bandai are finally prepared to admit it.