أوضح القضايا القانونية المظلمة والأغمق

When these issues first arose, Ironmace didn't engage with the media much. But the company did post statements to Reddit and the Dark and Darker discord. One statement (via PC Gamer) read:

“Our code was built from scratch. Most of our assets are purchased from the Unreal marketplace. All other assets and all game designs docs were created in house. This has already been audited by an outside agency. As far as we know you cannot copyright a game genre.”

The statement suggested the stolen code allegations stem from a “..disgruntled 3rd party”. In other words, they were refuting the allegations and pressing on with development. But then, in March of 2024, Dark and Darker was removed from Steam.

Why Was Dark and Darker Removed From Steam?

Nexon filed a DMCA takedown, which led to Valve removing it from the digital storefront in March. Ironmace also received a cease and desist and in response, issued another Discord statement. It also advised players to torrent its latest playtest.

ينص Nexon على أنه وفقًا للتحقيق ، "يبدو أن Dark و Darked قد تم بناؤه وتطويره باستخدام أسرار التداول والمعلومات المحمية بحقوق الطبع والنشر ، وتم نسخها وسرقتها من Nexon." We would like to show that these allegations are baseless. No copyrighted materials or misappropriated trade secrets from Nexon were used by IRONMACE.” However, the game is now back on Steam and the Epic Games Store, so you can download it from there. Problem sorted, right? ليس تماما.

Who Won the Dark and Darker Lawsuit?

The bulk of this legal drama happened in mid-2013, so what happened next? Dark and Darker is back on Steam, so we know that Ironmace Games wasn't forced to stop selling the game. Did this mean they won? مُطْلَقاً.

كما ذكرت Gamesradar ، قضت محكمة كورية جنوبية بأنه على الرغم من أن Ironmace لم يكن مذنباً بتهديد حقوق الطبع والنشر ، إلا أن المطور قد انتهى من أسرار Nexon التجارية. As a result, Ironmace has to pay the equivalent of nearly $6 million in damages. Dark and Darker isn't short on players, with tens of thousands of players diving into the online dungeoneering game. But is it profitable enough for them to eat that cost? We'll have to wait to find out.

Ironmace might have seen the back of this, either. لقد ضمنت Nexon أنهم سيتخذون المزيد من الإجراءات (عبر PCGamer) وأنه "بعد مراجعة الحكم بعناية ، فإننا نخطط للبحث عن مزيد من الحكم القانوني من خلال محكمة عليا".

And those are the Dark and Darker legal issues, explained.

The above article was updated on 2/20/25 by the original author to include additional information about the legal issues.