Dark Souls II will debut on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin, an upgraded version of the game that includes all released DLC.
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Scholar of the First Sin is also on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC, though, making it a bit confusing as to what you're actually getting on each platform--and how much it will cost you. Fortunately, Bandai Namco released a large FAQ to help sort out the different editions of the game.
As the FAQ says, think of Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin on Xbox One and PS4 (and the new DX11 version on PC) as a brand new Director's Cut of the game. All of the past DLC is included, and the visuals have been upgraded along with other facets of the title.
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Here are all the improvements for those versions:
- New enemy placement, map shortcuts, and gameplay design.
- Graphics, sound, and performance upgrade.
- New weapons and armor for players to experiment with.
- New NPC invading player's world.
- Max online players up from 4 to 6.
- It is a fresh new experience that even grizzled veterans will find surprising and challenging!
As for the last gen and original PC version of the game--those can be upgraded to Scholar of the First Sin for a price, as its owners will know. It's not a new release on those platforms, but an upgrade on existing versions. This means the game received weapon balancing, lore changes, and other upgrades that improved everything possible on the older hardware. Save files were compatible from Dark Souls II to Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin on PS3, Xbox 360, and the DirectX9 versions of the game, but you can't take saves from the original into the Xbox One, PS4, or DX11 versions.
What about pricing? The new, standalone game on PS4 and Xbox One will be priced at $59.99, with tiered costs for the other versions on Steam depending on what you already own:
- Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin (DirectX9): $39.99
- Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin (DirectX11): $49.99
- DirectX11 Upgrade price for existing owners of Dark Souls II on Steam: $29.99
- DirectX11 Upgrade price for existing owners of Dark Souls II and all DLC on Steam: $19.99
Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin will be available on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 digitally and at retailers on April 7, 2015. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin will be available on Steam on April 1st, 2015.