Dark Souls 3 Network Stress Test Begins in October

Namco Bandai will be holding a network stress test for Dark Souls 3, giving players the opportunity to play a short section the game before its release, as well as put its online multiplayer capabilities through its paces.

The test, which currently has only been announced for the PlayStation 4, will begin on October 16 and last until October 18 in both North America and Japan. A European stress test has not been announced.

Those interested in taking part will be able to register between September 18 at 5PM CEST and October 4 at 5PM CEST on the game's official website.

Network Stress Test sessions (America)

• Friday, October 16th, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. CEST
• Saturday, October 17th, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. CEST
• Sunday, October 18th, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. CEST

Bandai Namco Entertainment America has announced the Dark Souls 3 release date will be in April for Europe and North America. This is a little bit later than the Japanese release date, which is currently scheduled for a March 24 release.

Dark SOuls 3 will be available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC (via Steam).

In other From Software news, the studio's first expansion for Bloodborne was detailed at Sony's press conference in Tokyo Game Show. Titled 'The Old Hunters,' the add-on will tell the story of the "legendary hunters" alluded to in the main game and will take players to a "nightmare world where hunters from the past are trapped forever."

In an interview with GameSpot,Bloodborne director Hidetaka Miyazaki provided assurances that the quality of Bloodborne's expansion will not be impacted by his second project, Dark Souls 3, which he is serving as director on.