If you’ve been suffering from the Dark Souls 2 White Screen of Death start-up crash issue on PC, the latest patch should hopefully fix the problem. An announcement on Steam states that the patch will address “some issues players were having with crashes upon launch.”
The statement adds that if you’ve previously altered various system configurations as a work-around to get the game launching, it may be a good idea to switch those back now: “Don’t forget to change your computer settings back to default if you tried any of the work-arounds.”
Steam should download the 7-8MB patch automatically. If it doesn’t, try restarting Steam or verifying the game cache of Dark Souls 2.
In addition, it now appears (based on changes to the game’s store page) that the game is VAC secured. It’s not clear yet if this will affect the use of external mods like Durante’s GeDoSaTo, but it might be advisable to proceed with caution until that’s confirmed either way.
If the latest patch means you’re now able to get into Dark Souls 2 on PC for the first time and need a helping hand, our starter guide can point the way.