{"id":155551,"date":"2023-04-15T01:15:13","date_gmt":"2023-04-15T01:15:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/culture.org\/?p=155551"},"modified":"2023-04-15T01:15:13","modified_gmt":"2023-04-15T01:15:13","slug":"dark-and-darker-developers-embroiled-in-chaos-and-legal-battle-with-nexon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/culture.org\/gaming\/dark-and-darker-developers-embroiled-in-chaos-and-legal-battle-with-nexon\/","title":{"rendered":"Dark and Darker Developers Embroiled in Chaos and Legal Battle with Nexon"},"content":{"rendered":"           <!--  <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n                jQuery(document).ready(function() {\r\n                    jQuery(\".key-accordion-item .key-menu\").on(\"click\", function() {\r\n                        if (jQuery(this).parent().hasClass(\"active\")) {\r\n                            jQuery(this).next().slideUp();\r\n                            jQuery(this).parent().removeClass(\"active\");\r\n                        } else {\r\n                            jQuery(\".key-content\").slideUp();\r\n                            jQuery(\".key-accordion-item\").removeClass(\"active\");\r\n                            jQuery(this).parent().addClass(\"active\");\r\n                            jQuery(this).next().slideDown();\r\n                        }\r\n                    });\r\n                })\r\n            <\/script> -->\r\n\r\n\r\n            <!-- start html -->\r\n\r\n            <div class=\"news-key-takeaway-wapper\">\r\n                                <span style=\"background-color:#39b54a;\">Key Takeaways<\/span>\r\n                <ul class=\"news-key-nbox\" style=\"border-color:#39b54a;background-color:rgba(57, 181, 74, 0.1);\">\r\n                                                        <li>Ironmace, the developer behind the upcoming MMO Dark and Darker, is facing legal battles and chaos, including being delisted from Steam and accused by Nexon of stealing thousands of files, including source codes and builds for an unreleased game.<\/li>\r\n                                                                    <li>Ironmace denied the allegations and claimed that the game was made from scratch, but the legal battle with Nexon continues to cast a shadow over the future of Dark and Darker.<\/li>\r\n                                                                    <li>Despite its legal troubles, Dark and Darker has managed to build a substantial fanbase through public playtests, with the recent playtest during Steam Next Fest attracting over 102,000 concurrent players, making it one of the biggest games on Steam.<\/li>\r\n                                                                    <li>The next Dark and Darker playtest is scheduled for April 14, but there is uncertainty surrounding its availability and how it will be conducted.<\/li>\r\n                                                                    <li>The ongoing legal dispute and chaotic community events have cast doubt on the future of Dark and Darker, but the game's impressive playtest numbers and growing fanbase suggest its potential to become a major success in the gaming industry.<\/li>\r\n                                                <\/ul>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            \n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ironmace, the developer behind the upcoming MMO Dark and Darker, has faced a series of challenges, including a police raid at its Seongnam, South Korea offices and being delisted from Steam.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nexon, the publisher of MapleStory and co-owner of Korean publishing rights for Final Fantasy XIV, accused Ironmace of stealing thousands of files, including source codes and builds for an unreleased game.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The alleged theft led to Nexon issuing a DMCA takedown notice to Valve, resulting in Dark and Darker&#8217;s removal from Steam.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ironmace has denied the allegations, stating that the game was made from scratch.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Terence Seung-ha, CEO of Ironmace, claimed that the police raid found no evidence of stolen code.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, the legal battle with Nexon continues to cast a shadow over the future of Dark and Darker.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Discord Drama and GoFundMe Campaign<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adding to the confusion, a now-deleted GoFundMe campaign was launched to support Ironmace&#8217;s legal battle against Nexon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An Ironmace developer named Luci took to the game&#8217;s official Discord to accuse Nexon of using its resources to target the smaller studio unfairly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Luci shared a GoFundMe link, which reportedly raised at least $30,000 before being taken down.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, conflicting messages followed, with Ironmace deleting Luci&#8217;s post and claiming Luci&#8217;s account may have been compromised.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Later, Graysun, another admin on the Dark and Darker Discord server, confirmed that the GoFundMe link was legitimate but had been posted prematurely.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The admins assured the community that the official fundraiser page would be announced when it was ready to be relaunched.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>                        <!-- <div class=\"container-c\"> -->\r\n                        <!-- <div class=\"row justify-content-between\"> -->\r\n                        <!-- <div class=\"col-post-800\"> -->\r\n                        <!-- start html -->\r\n                        <div class=\"blockquote-wapper\">\r\n                            <div>\r\n                                <span class=\"text_quot\">\r\n                                    <p>An Ironmace developer named Luci took to the game&#8217;s official Discord to accuse Nexon of using its resources to target the smaller studio unfairly.<\/p>\n                                <\/span>\r\n\r\n                                <div class=\"quot_icon\">\r\n                                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-content\/themes\/culture\/icons\/i_quot.svg\" type=\"image\/svg+xml\">\r\n                                <\/div>\r\n                            <\/div>\r\n\r\n                            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"quot_tick\" src=\"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-content\/themes\/culture\/icons\/i_quot_tri.svg\" type=\"image\/svg+xml\">\r\n                        <\/div>\r\n                        <!-- end html -->\r\n                        <!-- <\/div> -->\r\n                        <!-- <\/div> -->\r\n                        <!-- <\/div> -->\r\n                                    <\/h2>\n<h2><strong>Growing Fanbase Amid Legal Troubles<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite its legal troubles, Dark and Darker has managed to build a substantial fanbase through public playtests.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many fans view the dispute as a David and Goliath story, with a small indie studio battling a massive publisher.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The situation has generated chaos within the community, with speculation and uncertainty surrounding the game&#8217;s future.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The game&#8217;s unique blend of dark fantasy dungeon crawling and player competition has attracted a growing number of enthusiasts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a three-player squad, players choose from various classes, such as a bow-wielding ranger or party-buffing bard, and infiltrate unfriendly territories filled with monsters and treasures.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Impressive Playtest Numbers and Wishlist Popularity<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dark and Darker&#8217;s recent playtest during Steam Next Fest attracted over 102,000 concurrent players, making it one of the biggest games on Steam.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The game is currently in alpha, with no clear indication of when the final version will be released.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nonetheless, the rising numbers suggest a solid foundation for the game, which has been described as a mix of Skyrim and Escape from Tarkov.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The game&#8217;s success is further demonstrated by its position as the ninth-most wishlisted title on Steam, surpassing popular games like Ark 2, Kerbal Space Program 2, and Hades 2.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This achievement highlights the growing anticipation for Dark and Darker&#8217;s eventual release.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Uncertainty Surrounding Upcoming Playtest<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, the next Dark and Darker playtest, scheduled for April 14, has raised concerns as previous playtests were conducted through Steam, where the game is no longer listed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This uncertainty has left fans unsure of how the playtest will be conducted and whether the legal battle with Nexon will impact its availability.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In conclusion, the ongoing legal dispute and chaotic community events have cast doubt on the future of Dark and Darker.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nevertheless, the game&#8217;s impressive playtest numbers and its growing fanbase suggest that the MMO has the potential to become a major success in the gaming industry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the legal battle between Ironmace and Nexon unfolds, the ultimate fate of Dark and Darker remains uncertain.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, the passion and support demonstrated by the community showcase a strong desire for the game&#8217;s development and eventual release.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It remains to be seen how Ironmace will navigate these challenges and whether Dark and Darker will ultimately emerge triumphant from this turmoil.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":155552,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[407],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-155551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gaming"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155551"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155551"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155551\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/155552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}