In January this year Bandai Namco turned off its PC servers for Dark Souls in order to get to grips with a security exploit found in PvP since hackers could effectively gain access to a player's PC and take over. Months later, these Dark Souls servers remain shut off, but a new debug update could be preparing the ground for their return (via PCGamesN). The debug for the FromSoftware-developed title was spotted on SteamDB by Twitter user Lance McDonald. "Bandai Namco have pushed a new Dark Souls 3 update to folks with access to some of the debug branches on Steam for the first time in many years," he wrote. Related: I Can't Believe We Haven't Had A Bloodborne Remaster Yet"Probably testing new patches for upcoming server restoration."

In May, FromSoftware had reassured players that it was "actively working" on a Dark Souls PvP fix with the view to getting the RPGs' servers back up and running ASAP. It's been a couple months since then so while this new debug isn't confirmation that multiplayer servers are returning, it could very well be an update that intends to fix it.

Back in January, concerns were raised as a security exploit could see hackers taking over a player's PC simply by playing Dark Souls 3's PvP. Since hackers could invade this way (seems kind of apt although not ideal of course) Bandai Namco took precautions by deactivating all Dark Souls servers on PC, with all three games in the series unavailable for PvP, and also took steps to ensure the exploit wasn't also affecting Elden Ring.

We still need to hear from Bandai Namco if this does mean a fix is on the way shortly but since it's been some time since an update it could be that the fix is intended to ensure no other back doors or exploits can be found. But we will just have to sit on our twitchy hands and wait. Dark Souls PC players will need patience on this one, but this is a potential sign that good news could be ahead.

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