Dark Souls Steamworks Version Available, Migration Instructions

In case you wanted to try the PC version of Dark Souls but had been deterred by the presence of Games for Windows Live, this is your lucky day, as Bandai Namco has pushed out a beta branch of the title without Games for Windows Live and instructions on how to import saves and achievements to it. The Games for Windows Live and Steamworks versions of the game will be separated until February 16, after which the game will just permanently switch to Steamworks. In other words, if you have save data or achievements for the title you’d like to import, you should do that before February 16, otherwise they will be lost and you’ll start from scratch.

Here are some instructions on how to import:

For users who purchased a Game for Windows live version from a retailer (Disc) or Games for Windows Live Marketplace (Digital):
1) We recommend that you add Dark Soulsâ„¢ Prepare To Die to your Steam account using your serial
2) Launch the game and connect to Games for Windows Live.
3) Run the game (only the currently signed-in user’s Save Data and Achievements can be transferred to Steam).
4) Close the Game.
5) Right click on your game in the Steam Library, go into Properties, check that the BETA tab is set to (dsptde-2.0-(
6) Launch Dark Soulsâ„¢ Prepare To Die Edition v2.0 from Steam
7) The game will look for previous Save Data and Achievements. If Save Data and Achievements are detected on your computer, you should be able to continue your progress in the game. Achievements should be unlocked in Steam.

For users who purchased a Game for Windows live version from Steam:
1) Launch the game and connect to Games for Windows Live.
2) Run the game (only the currently signed-on user’s progress can be transferred to Steam).
3) Close Games for Windows Live
4) Right click on your game in the Steam Library, go into Properties, check that the BETA tab is set to (dsptde-2.0-(
5) Launch Dark Soulsâ„¢ Prepare To Die Edition v2.0 from Steam
6) Sign in using the same live profile used in step-2 to import your Save Data and Achievements from the Games for Windows Live version to the Steam version for the same profile (gamertag)
7) The game will look for previous Save Data and Achievements. If they are detected on your computer, you should be able to continue your progress in the game and achievements should be unlocked in Steam.

Funnily, the Steamworks version of the title that was pushed initially was a debug version that started from a Japanese menu that included access to an old demo build and a model viewer. The build was subsequently updated again and now appears to work correctly.