Demon’s Souls could be coming out this year as a PlayStation 5 launch title, after the reveal that it’s received a rating in South Korea. The remake of the From Software classic game that preceded Dark Souls was announced earlier this year at Sony’s PS5 reveal event after being the subject of long-running rumors.

Any fan of Dark Souls would feel right at home playing Demon’s Souls, but the earlier game does have some important differences, from its more traditional hub-based level design to its more strategic boss fights. One thing that’s definitely intact in both games is their tremendous difficulty, which has gained them diehard fans and tireless detractors in equal measure. Of the two games, Dark Souls has been immensely more popular, owing at least in part to its availability on more platforms, better name recognition through sequels, and the fact that it had Demon’s Souls - which came out in almost complete obscurity - to build on.

Now, it seems that the Demon’s Souls remake may be closer than fans had even hoped. As Gematsu spotted, Demon’s Souls was rated in South Korea last week, and that could point to its release date coming up soon. As Gematsu points out, the only other PS5 game that’s received such a rating so far is Spider-Man: Miles Morales, which has already been confirmed for a release this year. Gematsu also shows that many PS4 games have a pattern of releasing two or three months after their South Korean ratings, which would put Demon’s Souls’ release right around the presumed November launch date of the PS5 if it follows the same trend.


It’s important to keep in mind that neither Sony nor Bluepoint Studios, which is handling the remake, has confirmed a release date for Demon’s Souls. Still, the evidence seems to point to a console launch window release, and it’s a move that makes sense for Sony as well. With big-name games on both the PS5 and Xbox Series X getting delayed, the console makers will need all the heavy hitters they can muster to drive sales this holiday season. Demon’s Souls may not be the biggest next-gen release, but its cult following will all but guarantee Sony some pretty impressive sales figures whenever it drops.

Given how long Demon’s Souls has been rumored, it’s not hard to believe that it’s been in active development for a while now. With a game whose appeal is so much in its idiosyncrasies, there’s no telling whether the remake will be able to recapture what made the original so great, but its mere existence could tip the scales in the PS5’s favor if it does show up later this year.