Demon's Souls haunting Europe

Last year's standout PlayStation 3-exclusive role-playing game Demon's Souls will finally get a European release on June 25, Namco Bandai has confirmed. The publisher is also bringing the game out in the Middle East, Africa, and Pacific Asia regions. Those gamers' patience will be rewarded with a limited Black Phantom Edition of the game, including a CD of the soundtrack, an art book, and an all-new strategy guide.

Developed by From Software, Demon's Souls takes place in the bleak kingdom of Boletaria. In addition to its difficulty, Demon's Souls gained notoriety for innovative online features that allowed users to invade each other's worlds to lend a hand or slaughter each other.

The game was published in Japan by Sony, and the American rights were picked up in 2009 by Atlus USA. Despite the game's positive critical reception (including being named GameSpot's 2009 Game of the Year), a European release of Demon's Souls had been uncertain until today.

While Namco's investment in Demon's Souls won't come to fruition for months, Atlus' own gamble on the game paid off in a profitable quarter. The North American launch of the PlayStation 3 exclusive exceeded expectations and surpassed sales of 250,000 copies.