All PvP servers for the entire series have been deactivated, according to the official Dark Souls Twitter account, though Xbox and PlayStation will be unaffected. Following the news of the shutdowns, the title of this article has been changed.
A recent hack has plagued the PC version of Dark Souls 3, and it appears that Elden Ring will face the same problem unless it is resolved.
The Remote Code Execution (RCE) exploit allows a potential attacker to run arbitrary code on a remote device, effectively taking control of a player’s computer. Although the full extent of the RCE hack is unknown, the Dark Souls community has been ablaze with warnings about the issue.
This Twitch streamer appears to have been the victim of an RCE attack, and a screenshot from a Dark Souls Discord (via The Verge) suggests that the attack was carried out in a non-malicious manner in order to raise awareness of the problem. The user who carried out the attack had apparently tried to contact FromSoftware before but had received no response.
In the midst of all of this, there is some good news: Blue Sentinel, a popular anti-cheat mod for Dark Souls 3, has been updated to combat RCE hacks. The mod has “code obfuscation to prevent reverse engineering,” which is when the code is made deliberately difficult for humans to understand to protect the game, as Reddit user Jonientz pointed out.
Bandai Namco has also been alerted to the problem after the hack was discovered by a community manager on Reddit.
According to reports on the internet, only a few players are aware of the RCE hack and are responsible actors, so the chances of being harmed without protection are slim, but the issue could affect other FromSoftware games.
This means that Elden Ring’s release next month will require RCE protection, as reports suggest that the same flaw has been discovered in the game’s data mined code. When we hear from Bandai Namco on the subject, we’ll update the story.
Dark Souls 3 players should either install Blue Sentinel or play the game in offline mode right now.
In other Nintendo Switch news, an update to the Nintendo Switch Online version of Ocarina Of Time suggests that the company is working to improve console emulation on the system.
