Dark and Darker delisted on Steam after copyright dispute
Following a popular beta test earlier in the year, the multiplayer extraction game Dark and Darker has been delisted from Steam (thanks, VG 24/7). Nexon, publisher of the mobile hit Maplestory, among other games, issued a DMCA takedown notice against Dark and Darker, alleging that developer Ironmace, stole assets and code from a Nexon project for the game.
“We have recently been served a cease and desist letter and DMCA takedown by Nexon regarding Dark and Darker based on distorted claims,” a Nexon representative said on Discord in response to the DMCA takedown. “We are currently working with our legal team to remedy this issue in the best manner possible. Due to the sensitive legal nature of this issue we must be careful with our statements so as not to jeopardize our position. We ask for your understanding as we work to get the game back up as quickly as possible.”
The takedown notices comes just weeks after Nexon had police search Ironmace’s office and seize materials that Nexon believed pertained to the stolen code, though Ironmace said the police recovered no such proof.
The dispute stretches back to 2021, when Nexon employees who later joined Ironmace were working on a project called P3. P3 reportedly had several similarities to Dark and Darker, so when Ironmace unveiled its project, Nexon believed the former employees had stolen assets and other materials from P3 for the game.
Nexon hasn’t issued a statement as of the time of publication.
