Xbox One owners have found a way to play Dark Souls 3 early on the console, by accessing the English version of the game through the Japanese store, which has been unlocked today.
The game was made available for release in Japan on March 24th, though time differences mean that gamers outside of the region have been able to unlock it on the Xbox One store early and actually play it on their consoles, despite it not releasing worldwide until April 12th, 2016.
A user on the subreddit for the Japanese release of the game revealed that the game could be unlocked early by doing the following:
- Purchase Japanese Xbox credit (the game costs ¥7,452) through a site such as Amazon.co.jp or the Japanese Microsoft Store. You’ll have to use a Japanese billing address.
- Enter those codes on the Japanese Xbox site’s payments and billing page right here, then click option “ご利用コードを使う,” before hitting confirm.
- Go Settings, Location and change the option to 日本語 (Japanese) on your Xbox One.
- Reboot the console with these new settings.
- Hit RB twice on the home screen in order to get to ゲーム (the games store).
- Select Dark Souls 3 and press A. If you’re using these tips on a later date, you may have to scroll further if DS3 is moved around on the store.
- On the store page will be 4 boxes – select the one with the price of the game in Yen, and press A.
- When your balance in Yen is shown, press confirm. If this doesn’t work then you’ll need to add a Japanese billing address under the option with the “+” sign next to it.
- Download the game by pressing the button that previously showed the price.
This method reportedly allows the user to unlock the English version of the game, too, nearly a month before the game’s international release date on April 12th.
While it’s likely that Microsoft will soon rectify this mistake on their behalf, which could lead to the game being locked for those who have managed to access it early, if you’re desperate to get your hands on it ahead of its release on these shores then this is how to do it.
