A time of death has been announced for the online features of two beloved titles from 2013 and 2014 respectively, as Armored Core Verdict Day and Dark Souls 2 switch off their servers in the coming months. The announcements were made by developers FromSoftware Inc on the official websites of both titles, marking the final day for both servers to be March 31, 2024.
For fans of Dark Souls 2, the announcement detailed that online features such as shades, bloodstains, and messages will no longer be available. Additionally, this will be the end of the game's multiplayer features, as co-op play, invasions, and duelling will all be laid to rest when servers go offline.
Similarly, Armored Core Verdict Day will lose World mode, mercenary features, ranking, and team menus, among other online components, and any online trophies will cease to be obtainable. It is worth noting, however, that the story mode and offline play for both games will still operate as usual.
This will mark the end of the decade-long runs of both titles online, which were both released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. Armored Core Verdict Day was met with mixed reviews following its launch, earning them a score of 66 on Metacritic. The blow is perhaps bigger for Dark Souls 2, which was critically acclaimed and earned itself an inclusion in a stacked roster of Game Awards Game of the Year 2014 nominees.
While the news might be somewhat of a Christmas nightmare to long-time fans, it would not come as a surprise given the direction that both franchises have moved in since these titles were released. Armored Core 6 was unleashed on the gaming community in August of 2023 and earned itself the Best Action Game at the Game Awards. On the flipside, Dark Souls brought out a third instalment plus a remastered version of the original to the delight of fans in 2016 and 2018, respectively.