{
  "id": 15474118,
  "title": "Dark Souls 2 dataminer shows off massive prototype coliseum level from early development",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/dark-souls-2-dataminer-shows-off-massive-prototype-coliseum-level",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-18T18:48:42.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "PC Gamer",
    "slug": "pc-gamer",
    "url": "https://www.pcgamer.com/games/dark-souls/dark-souls-2-dataminer-shows-off-massive-prototype-coliseum-level-from-early-development/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A dataminer has uncovered a massive prototype coliseum level from the early stages of development for Dark Souls 2. The rough prototype, largely abandoned during development, may have been related to what became the Undead Crypt in the final game. The files contain a coliseum zone, mines, an underground tower, and a crypt portion. Doneda, the dataminer who discovered the unused levels, has previously made a Nightreign-compatible version of Dark Souls 2's Eleum Loyce and showcased an early version of Dark Souls 2's The Gutter. The development of Dark Souls 2 was fraught with challenges, including a rushed development cycle and significant story rewrites. Despite the extensive content found in the game's files, the coliseum complex may have been planned for a different story iteration that is unrecognizable to players today.",
  "summary": "Bigger than the ones in Elden Ring, for what it's worth.",
  "key_points": [
    "Dataminer discovers massive prototype coliseum level from early Dark Souls 2 development.",
    "Files contain coliseum zone, mines, underground tower, and crypt portion.",
    "Level may have been for different story iteration unrecognizable to modern players."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}