The Game Census
DARK SOULS™ II: Scholar of the First Sin cover art

DARK SOULS™ II: Scholar of the First Sin

FromSoftware, Inc. · Bandai Namco Entertainment · 2015-04-01

SteamPlayStation StoreAmazonMicrosoft Store

ActionRPG

Franchise: Dark Souls · Modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative

Releases: Apr 07, 2015 (Xbox One), Apr 02, 2015 (PlayStation 4), Apr 07, 2015 (PlayStation 3), Apr 02, 2015 (Xbox 360), Apr 02, 2015 (PC (Microsoft Windows))

DARK SOULS™ II: Scholar of the First Sin brings the franchise’s renowned obscurity & gripping gameplay to a new level. Join the dark journey and experience overwhelming enemy encounters, diabolical hazards, and unrelenting challenge.

1,677
playing now
84%
positive of 132k reviews
Very Positive
steam rating
2,000,000–5,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
301
twitch viewers (latest)
87/100
critic score (9 outlets, IGDB)
84/100
IGDB user rating (441 ratings)
53h
to beat · rushed 35h · completionist 72h
platinum
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
$39.99
steam price (US)

1,677 players in-game as of 2026-08-30 00:00 UTC (census sample)

Dark Souls II is set in Drangleic, a ruined kingdom worn down by an undead curse that slowly erodes memory and identity. The player takes the role of the Bearer of the Curse, an undead traveler who comes to the kingdom searching for a way to be cured. In the quiet settlement of Majula, a figure called the Emerald Herald points the Bearer toward gathering powerful souls and seeking out King Vendrick, the land's former ruler. The journey leads across crumbling castles, forgotten crypts, and hostile wilds, where much of the kingdom's history is pieced together indirectly through the people, place(Storyline via IGDB)

Trailer

DARK SOULS™ II: Scholar of the First Sin trailer thumbnail

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin - Forlorn Hope Trailer

≈25,256 YouTube results for this game's trailer search

Health check

Healthy
  • · 1,677 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 6,072 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~759/week).
  • · Review velocity up 3% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 2% of 10,791 Action games in the census by review count.

Health tier since 2026-08-27

Estimated sales: 3.3M–7.9M copies

Review-multiple estimate from 131,553 total reviews — how this is computed.

Current store prices

Microsoft Store$39.99

Deal snapshots via CheapShark, refreshed daily.

All-time low: $6.99 at IndieGala Store (2018-03-20) · bundled 3×via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $39.99 · on sale 19 of 31 observed days · $33.00 above the all-time low (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
1.5k1.5k20182026Week of 2018-01-01: 366 positiveWeek of 2018-01-01: 71 negativeWeek of 2018-02-01: 203 positiveWeek of 2018-02-01: 47 negativeWeek of 2018-03-01: 168 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 25 negativeWeek of 2018-04-01: 143 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 33 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 179 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 26 negativeWeek of 2018-06-01: 262 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 81 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 301 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 94 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 158 positiveWeek of 2018-08-01: 39 negativeWeek of 2018-09-01: 107 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 25 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 122 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 738 positiveWeek of 2018-11-01: 59 negativeWeek of 2018-12-01: 255 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 56 negativeWeek of 2019-01-01: 267 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 64 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 277 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 65 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 202 positiveWeek of 2019-03-01: 53 negativeWeek of 2019-04-01: 148 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 38 negativeWeek of 2019-05-01: 238 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 55 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 1,014 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 100 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 998 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 88 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 133 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 33 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 186 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 46 negativeWeek of 2019-10-01: 226 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 42 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 953 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 78 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 1,001 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 93 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 945 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 117 negativeWeek of 2020-02-01: 661 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 85 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 622 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 71 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 1,009 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 149 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 1,199 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 193 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 1,010 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 173 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 1,386 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 241 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 679 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 136 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 501 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 86 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 439 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 68 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 847 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 111 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 1,162 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 216 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 1,114 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 201 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 819 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 128 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 688 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 122 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 1,017 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 194 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 682 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 122 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 1,265 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 263 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 1,484 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 312 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 833 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 205 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 594 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 122 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 540 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 121 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 907 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 165 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 1,131 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 244 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 1,274 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 305 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 664 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 188 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 629 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 209 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 551 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 288 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 337 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 180 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 315 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 106 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 290 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 124 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 356 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 97 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 274 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 84 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 374 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 72 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 532 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 77 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 467 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 92 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 546 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 144 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 403 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 144 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 439 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 96 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 329 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 95 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 303 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 75 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 300 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 74 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 756 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 254 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 508 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 151 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 547 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 174 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 415 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 112 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 546 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 124 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 519 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 142 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 463 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 118 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 635 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 190 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 624 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 180 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 442 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 136 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 746 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 250 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 602 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 192 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 631 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 212 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 521 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 127 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 423 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 119 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 779 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 286 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 537 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 139 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 669 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 173 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 615 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 175 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 646 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 216 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 529 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 147 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 434 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 119 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 939 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 294 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 643 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 162 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 625 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 169 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 484 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 138 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 358 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 89 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 562 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 181 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 595 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 112 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 676 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 189 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 554 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 115 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 639 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 176 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 668 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 156 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 628 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 164 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 707 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 211 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 501 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 142 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 428 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 118 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 387 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 84 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

2.5k1.1k2026-08-06 21:00 — 1,714 players2026-08-07 05:00 — 1,226 players2026-08-07 13:00 — 1,580 players2026-08-07 21:00 — 1,746 players2026-08-08 05:00 — 1,379 players2026-08-08 13:00 — 1,740 players2026-08-08 21:00 — 2,174 players2026-08-09 05:00 — 1,599 players2026-08-09 13:00 — 1,992 players2026-08-09 21:00 — 2,369 players2026-08-10 05:00 — 1,237 players2026-08-10 13:00 — 1,685 players2026-08-10 21:00 — 1,793 players2026-08-11 05:00 — 1,226 players2026-08-11 13:00 — 1,652 players2026-08-12 21:00 — 1,681 players2026-08-14 04:00 — 1,194 players2026-08-15 12:00 — 1,846 players2026-08-16 20:00 — 2,484 players2026-08-18 04:00 — 1,406 players2026-08-19 11:00 — 1,256 players2026-08-20 19:00 — 1,779 players2026-08-22 02:00 — 1,649 players2026-08-23 10:00 — 1,585 players2026-08-24 17:00 — 1,896 players2026-08-26 01:00 — 1,472 players2026-08-27 09:00 — 1,087 players2026-08-28 17:00 — 1,758 players2026-08-30 00:00 — 1,677 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).

Price history

$49.99$7.882015-04-022026-08-272015-04-02 — best price $36.802015-07-14 — best price $24.992015-10-23 — best price $24.992016-02-05 — best price $18.992016-06-12 — best price $13.592016-10-13 — best price $9.992017-01-01 — best price $19.972017-04-16 — best price $35.992017-08-03 — best price $22.472017-11-21 — best price $10.002018-02-12 — best price $10.002018-05-06 — best price $39.992018-08-01 — best price $9.172018-10-29 — best price $16.652019-02-07 — best price $10.002019-04-08 — best price $33.282019-06-25 — best price $39.992019-09-28 — best price $37.192019-12-14 — best price $10.002020-02-12 — best price $37.092020-05-05 — best price $33.892020-07-20 — best price $9.992020-10-01 — best price $31.992020-12-22 — best price $8.992021-02-26 — best price $10.002021-05-31 — best price $9.992021-09-20 — best price $8.992022-01-14 — best price $9.992023-05-10 — best price $37.762023-09-19 — best price $39.992024-05-10 — best price $18.992024-10-15 — best price $39.992025-05-14 — best price $39.992026-04-19 — best price $39.992026-08-27 — best price $39.99
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Twitch viewers

4.0k442026-08-20 23:12 — 3,148 viewers2026-08-26 23:12 — 3,595 viewers2026-08-27 16:34 — 272 viewers2026-08-27 18:34 — 301 viewers2026-08-27 21:34 — 279 viewers2026-08-27 23:34 — 353 viewers2026-08-28 01:34 — 495 viewers2026-08-28 03:34 — 305 viewers2026-08-28 05:34 — 184 viewers2026-08-28 07:34 — 178 viewers2026-08-28 09:34 — 123 viewers2026-08-28 11:34 — 98 viewers2026-08-28 13:34 — 142 viewers2026-08-28 15:34 — 329 viewers2026-08-28 17:34 — 365 viewers2026-08-28 19:34 — 254 viewers2026-08-28 21:34 — 165 viewers2026-08-28 23:34 — 275 viewers2026-08-29 01:34 — 361 viewers2026-08-29 03:34 — 356 viewers2026-08-29 05:34 — 170 viewers2026-08-29 07:34 — 209 viewers2026-08-29 09:34 — 44 viewers2026-08-29 11:34 — 58 viewers2026-08-29 13:34 — 77 viewers2026-08-29 15:34 — 165 viewers2026-08-29 17:34 — 242 viewers2026-08-29 19:35 — 4,037 viewers2026-08-29 21:34 — 846 viewers2026-08-29 23:34 — 2,478 viewers2026-08-30 01:34 — 342 viewers2026-08-30 03:34 — 339 viewers2026-08-30 05:34 — 133 viewers2026-08-30 07:34 — 120 viewers2026-08-30 09:34 — 89 viewers2026-08-30 11:34 — 280 viewers2026-08-30 13:34 — 330 viewers2026-08-30 15:34 — 301 viewers
Hourly Twitch viewers (census snapshots).

Completion

38
achievements tracked
94%
earned "Self Recollection"
35.6%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsFull controller supportSingle-playerMulti-playerCo-opSteam AchievementsFull controller supportRemote Play on PhoneRemote Play on TabletRemote Play on TVFamily Sharing

9 supported languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Polish, Portuguese - Brazil, Russian, Korean

Where its players are

Share of Steam reviews by language (top languages measured) — a proxy for where the player base lives.

Player tags

RPGDarkCo-opActionFantasyMedievalAdventureDifficultAction RPGSouls-like

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Players also track

Children of MortaImmortal: UnchainedOmensight: Definitive EditionCitadel: Forged with FireRemnant: From the AshesCODE VEINEternity: The Last UnicornTorchlight III

Similarity via IGDB.

Official site ↗Wikipedia ↗