Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin, the upgraded and expanded version of developer From Software's action role-playing game, will arrive first on Steam April 1 with discounts for players who already own the game, publisher Bandai Namco Games announced this week on its Tumblr.
The game will hit Steam at 6 p.m. ET, a week before its console counterparts, which are scheduled for an April 7 launch. Namco Bandai's post revealed that Scholar of the First Sin will cost $59.99 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. A spokesperson for the publisher told Polygon that the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 editions of Scholar of the First Sin, which like all versions will ship with the downloadable content from Dark Souls 2, will retail for $39.99.
Scholar of the First Sin's Windows PC version will be available at four different prices, both as the full game and as an upgrade for those who purchased the Windows PC version of Dark Souls 2.
- Full DirectX 9 version: $39.99
- Full DirectX 11 version: $49.99
- Upgrade to DirectX 11 for Dark Souls 2 owners who didn't purchase the DLC: $29.99
- Upgrade to DirectX 11 for Dark Souls 2 owners who purchased all of the DLC: $19.99
To segment the different versions, Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin will have two Steam pages, one for DirectX 9 and one for DirectX 11.
Those who purchase or upgrade to the DirectX 11 version won't be able to play with their DirectX 9 counterparts, nor will they be able to migrate their saves from the old to the new versions. Saves won't carry over on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, either. They will for Scholar of the First Sin upgraders on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, as well as PC players who upgrade from the DirectX 9 to DirectX 9 version.
"The difference in the DirectX11, Xbox One, and PS4 versions of Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin pertaining to where enemies spawn, items are located, and other environmental differences will not allow players running newer hardware versions to connect and interact with players experiencing the game on older hardware running DirectX9, Xbox 360, and PS3," the post explains.
You can check out the minimum and recommended PC specs below.
DIRECTX 9 MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
- OS: Windows Vista SP2 / Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8
- CPU: AMD Phenom II X2 555 3.2GHz / Intel Pentium Core 2 Duo E8500 3.17GHz
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce 9600GT / ATI Radeon HD5870
- DirectX: 9.0c
- Network: Broadband Internet Connection
- Hard Drive: 12 GB available space
- Sound Card: DirectX 9 sound device
- Additional Notes: Controller support: Microsoft Xbox 360 Controller for Windows (or equivalent) recommended
DIRECTX 9 RECOMMENDED SPECIFICATIONS
- OS: Windows 7 SP1 / Windows 8
- CPU: Intel Core i3 2100 3.10GHz / AMD A8 3870K 3.0GHz
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 / ATI Radeon HD 6870 or better
- DirectX: 9.0c
- Network: Broadband Internet Connection
- Hard Drive: 15 GB available space
- Sound Card: DirectX 9 sound device
- Additional Notes: Controller support: Microsoft Xbox 360 Controller for Windows (or equivalent) recommended
DIRECTX 11 MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
- OS: Windows 7 SP1 64bit / Windows 8.1 64bit
- CPU: Intel Core i3 2100 3.1GHz / AMD A8 3870 3.6GHz
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 465 / ATI Radeon HD 6870
- DirectX: 11
- Network: Broadband Internet Connection
- Hard Drive: 23 GB available space
- Sound Card: DirectX 11 sound device
- Additional Notes: Controller support: Microsoft Xbox 360 Controller for Windows (or equivalent) recommended
DIRECTX 11 RECOMMENDED SPECIFICATIONS
- OS: Windows 7 SP1 64bit / Windows 8.1 64bit
- CPU: Intel Core i7 2600 3.4GHz / AMD FX 8150 3.6GHz or better
- Memory: 8 GB RAM or better
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 (700 series) or better / ATI Radeon HD 7850 (7000 series) or better
- DirectX: 11
- Network: Broadband Internet Connection
- Hard Drive: 23 GB available space
- Sound Card: DirectX 11 sound device
- Additional Notes: Controller support: Microsoft Xbox 360 Controller for Windows (or equivalent) recommended
Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin is scheduled for an April 7, 2015 release on PS4 and Xbox One for $59.99. It will include Dark Souls 2's three downloadable content packs and updated graphics for current-gen consoles and Windows PC.
Scholar of the First Sin will bring what its creators call "an expanded story featuring additional in-game events and NPC character along with deadlier enemies and gameplay improvements." A massive Dark Souls 2 patch released last month paved the way for Scholar of the first Sin.