When does Dark Souls II’s Return to Drangleic event start?

On top of being one of the most iconic gaming series of the 2010s, the Dark Souls franchise has also acquired quite a dedicated community. Once every year, fans convene inside each game to engage in all manner of cooperative and competitive play in a celebration of each title. While Dark Souls II is commonly considered the low point of the Souls series, its legacy is still celebrated yearly with the “Return to Drangleic” event. In 2022, this event will kick off on January 16 and conclude on January 30.

According to the Reddit post outlining the event, the purpose of the fan-run Return to Drangleic is to recreate the higher level of player activity that Dark Souls II had upon its release. Given the random nature of Dark Souls II’s online features, it’s theoretically possible for one to participate in the event without knowing it, but the event’s organizers also shared some event guidelines for knowing participants to follow.

• Start a new game with a new character
• Engage in cooperative and competitive play as much as possible
• Leave a message by the Majula bonfire that reads: “Don’t give up skeleton!”
• Play through at your own pace.
• Scholar of the First Sin version of Dark Souls II recommended.
• All platforms are welcome to participate.

Scholar of the First Sin is an expanded re-release of Dark Souls II featuring all of its DLC. This re-release also expanded the total number of players allowed in multiplayer sessions to six, making it the ideal version for this event.

While 2021’s Return to Drangleic event was held from February 27 to March 13, event organizers opted to move the dates up for 2022, as the original date range would interfere with Elden Ring’s February release date.