A year after developer Ironmace managed to get its free-to-play medieval extraction looter Dark and Darker back on digital storefronts amid a lengthy legal tussle with South Korean game company Nexon, it’s been delisted again, this time from the Epic Games Store.
Dark and Darker’s legal troubles began in 2023, shortly after its demo had a bit of a moment on Steam, when Nexon accused Ironmace of copyright infringement, claiming members of the development team had used “materials and assets they worked on during their time” at Nexon to create Dark and Darker – an accusation Ironmace repeatedly denied.
As the legal accusations continued to fly, Nexon issued a cease and desist order forcing the game off Steam, but things appeared to be looking up for Ironmance after a court dismissed Nexon’s request for an injunction last January. By March, Dark and Darker had released on the Epic Games Store and it finally returned to Steam in June – but it looks like the dance is beginning again, with Dark and Darker having now been removed from the Epic Games Store.
Addressing the situation in a message shared on the official Dark and Darker Discord (as spotted by PCGamesN), Ironmace wrote, “The decision appears to be based on claims made by opposing parties in an ongoing legal dispute. We are currently working to understand the exact reasoning behind this removal.”
“It seems that the removal process is not yet fully complete,” the studio added, “as Dark and Darker is no longer listed, but Dark and Darker: Legendary Status is still available for purchase. Please be aware of this potential confusion.”
Ironmace didn’t explicitly name the opposing party in its “ongoing legal dispute”, but these latest development are almost certainly connected to the studio’s battle with Nexon, which reached another milestone earlier this year. In February, a South Korean court ruled Ironmace hadn’t committed copyright infringement with Dark and Darker, as Nexon had originally argued, but the studio wasn’t entirely off the hook. The court also ruled Ironmace had infringed on Nexon’s trade secrets, ordering the developer to cough up around $6m in damages.
At the time, Nexon said it “planned to seek further legal judgment through a higher court”, so there’s a good chance Dark and Darker’s removal from Epic is related to Nexon’s escalation. We’ve reached out to Epic and Ironmace for comment on the situation.
