Anyone playing the Dark Souls games on PC won’t be able to access any multiplayer features until after Elden Ring launches, according to a joint statement from FromSoftware and Bandai Namco.

#DarkSouls pic.twitter.com/ZRhX9OcvQe

— Dark Souls (@DarkSoulsGame) February 9, 2022

Dark Souls games on PC haven’t had their multiplayer servers up for some time now, a move that was made in response to a new exploit. Simply by connecting to other players in-game, the exploit lets hackers remotely execute code on someone else’s computer. According to VGC, the discovery of this exploit led to Dark Souls’ PC servers being shut down.

For any game with multiplayer features, it’s a serious issue, as it leaves anyone vulnerable to having their PC completely taken over simply by playing. Anyone playing the Dark Souls games on PlayStation or Xbox consoles doesn’t have to worry about having their console taken over though, as the exploit can only be used on PC.

According to the statement, Bandai Namco and FromSoftware are aware of the exploit, have identified a cause for it, and are currently working on fixing it. The two companies are also going over Elden Ring, FromSoftware’s upcoming hotly-anticipated title, to ensure that it doesn’t have the same security risks at launch. However, giving this much attention to Elden Ring means Dark Souls’ PC servers are going to stay down until after the game is launched. “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,” reads the statement.

For both FromSoftware and Bandai Namco, this exploit couldn’t come at a worse time. Without a proper fix, Elden Ring players on PC, which there are sure to be plenty of once the game launches, will be left vulnerable to having their systems compromised.