Elden Ring launched to overwhelmingly positive feedback – and equally serious technical issues. Xbox players are also affected. They are struggling with something very frustrating that only concerns them: persistent server problems.
Elden Ring is going through a turbulent phase at release.
- Initially, the game received excellent reviews and became one of the highest-rated games of all time on Metacritic.
- Shortly before release, first reports emerged that the Day-1 patch did not fundamentally improve the criticized performance on PC and PS5.
- A few hours after release, the Steam reviews were very mixed: While there was much praise for the gameplay, there was also a lot of criticism regarding the performance.
- The developers then commented on the performance issues on PC and PS5. They also shared a few potential fixes in the same breath.
While this back-and-forth regarding the PC and PS5 version of Elden Ring was taking place, Xbox players were dealing with their own problems. However, these are hardly addressed in the discussions.
Update, February 27: The problem has been resolved. FromSoftware reports this via the official Twitter account of Elden Ring:
Since Release: “Network status failed” on Xbox One and Series X | S
What difficulties are there on Xbox? Apparently, since release, the Xbox versions of Elden Ring have been struggling with persistent server issues.
Many Xbox players report that they have been seeing the error “Network status failed” since release, regardless of whether they play on Xbox One or Xbox Series X | S.
Thus, they can play the game offline, but they involuntarily miss essential Soulsborne features like player messages, phantoms, and the iconic multiplayer mode.
These problems seem to occur regardless of the region.
Some users report that they can still play the new Soulsborne game online on Xbox Series X, but they consider themselves to be exceptions. This Twitter user believes to have identified the problem. Some Xbox players apparently do not have the correct version of the game:
Elden Ring on Xbox Series X is not the right version for some users, which prevents them from going online. I have been online since yesterday, but my friends cannot connect to the Elden Ring servers. Please release a patch.
@cemeterybandit on Twitter
What is the likely solution? Most players see “1.02” as the version number in the lower right corner of the Elden Ring start screen. This is the version of the game at release, right after the mandatory Day-1 patch for online mode. The quoted Twitter user is apparently playing successfully online with version 1.02.
However, players in the MeinMMO community also say that this is not the solution. For example, Bastian writes in our comments: “I also play on Xbox Series X and could only play offline so far. The version number displayed is 1.02.”
According to people on Twitter, 1.02.1 is the patch that should enable the connection. The problem is that not everyone has this patch, and there is no way to force the download. Some users therefore have to play offline without any possibility to do something about it.
Server Issues Annoy Players: “Is it so absurd to want something as simple as a damn confirmation?”
On social media, players are not only very upset about the server problems at launch. Particularly the fact that this problem is apparently not addressed by those responsible causes a lot of frustration.
- A user writes on Twitter in all caps: “Fix your damn Xbox servers. The fact that I can’t play online with friends is ridiculous.”
- Another user responds to an official tweet regarding the PC issues: “This is all good, but could you please make a statement on the Xbox servers? Friends around the world can play, and many can’t. This is very annoying.”
- A Twitter user with an Xbox avatar writes: “We are being ignored by FromSoftware and Bandai Namco. It’s as if we are irrelevant or they don’t care about us. If a refund were an option, I would take it.”
MeinMMO has inquired with Bandai Namco about what the problem with Xbox is. We have already received initial feedback. The issue has been forwarded, and affected players should contact support. They should also check the auto-update feature on Xbox and see if a changed setting resolves the issue.
We are still in contact with the publisher and will continue to update this article as new developments arise.
