Dark Souls 3 PC Anti-Cheat Patch Removed Due to Freezing Issue

A Dark Souls 3 patch intended to address rampant hacking in the PC version of the game has been removed after it was discovered it was also causing the game to freeze.

"This patch has been removed temporarily to fix the freeze issues," reads an update on the game's Steam page. "We hope to reinstate the patch ASAP."

Dark Souls 3 hackers on PC have been able to exploit the game's cheat detection measures during multiplayer to inflict temporary bans on other players.

Although the update alleviated these issues, freezing emerged as an unintended side effect. Developer From Software has said, in light of the patch being rolled back, victims of these tactics "won't be penalised" with bans.

"We will keep you posted as soon as we have more info. Thank you for your understanding," it added.

Dark Souls 3 has shipped 3 million units worldwide, pushing total worldwide shipments of the entire Souls franchise past 13 million. The third entry in the series was most popular in North America and Europe, where it shipped 1.5 million and 1 million copies respectively. In Japan and Asia, it shipped 500,000.

Dark Souls 3 received a score of 8 in GameSpot's review, in which critic Mike Mahardy said, "This is the essence of Dark Souls 3: periods of doubt, followed by great reward. The journey may be rocky, but there's a throne waiting at the end."

From Software president Hidetaka Miyazaki, who directed Dark Souls, Dark Souls 3, and its PS4-exclusive spin-off Bloodborne, has said he doesn't plan on making any more Dark Souls titles in the immediate future.

The studio has reportedly started work on a new IP and isn't very keen on remaking Demon's Souls either, which fans have been eager for.