Elden Ring online servers will make launch, publisher confirms "security measures" in place
But Dark Souls servers will remain offline until after.
Elden Ring publisher Bandai Namco has pledged that the game's online servers will be available at launch, following the introduction of "necessary security measures".
The news comes in the wake of the extended and ongoing downtime for the Dark Souls series' PC online servers following reports of an exploit which allowed remote code execution (essentially, something that would allow someone else to take control of your PC).
The suggestion was that Elden Ring would suffer from the same exploit, and Bandai Namco has until now been quiet on whether its big new release would be made safe in time for launch.
"Bandai Namco Entertainment and FromSoftware are aware of the technical difficulties players have experienced with the Dark Souls suite of games on PC," the publisher said in a statement issued this afternoon.
"We want to thank the entire Dark Souls community and the players who have reached out to us directly to voice their concerns and offer solutions. Thanks to you, we have identified the cause and are working on fixing the issue.
"In addition, we have extended the investigation to Elden Ring - our upcoming title launching on 25th February - and have made sure the necessary security measures are in place for this title on all target platforms."
Bandai Namco went on to say that these security measures for Elden Ring had, perhaps understandably, been the company's priority - which meant the Dark Souls series' servers would remain offline for at least another two weeks.
"Due to the time required to set up proper testing environments, online services for the Dark Souls series on PC will not resume until after the release of Elden Ring," the publisher continued. "We will continue to do everything we can to bring back these services as soon as possible
"We will make an announcement as soon as the schedule is determined for resuming online services. Please stay tuned to the Dark Souls social media channels for updates.
"Once again, please allow us to share our thanks to your, our passionate community."
Elden Ring arrives in just a fortnight for PC, PlayStation and Xbox - including its online modes. It will also feature poison swamps, because creator Hidetaka Miyazaki loves making them.