The legal dispute between Korean publisher Nexon and Dark and Darker game developer Ironmace has taken an unexpected turn. Ironmace, made up of former Nexon developers, was accused of stealing code from their previous project and leaving to form Ironmace, while also buying the game’s release, all at Nexon’s expense.
Recently, Ironmace’s studio was raided by South Korean police, the game was removed from Steam due to a DMCA complaint, and Nexon issued a cease and desist letter. Ironmace denied the allegations, stating that Nexon made “distorted claims”.
Last weekend, a dramatic incident occurred on Ironmace’s official Discord server when one of the developers, Luci, claimed that Nexon’s legal team had contacted him with an “unreasonable settlement request. “. . Luci also pleaded with fans to support Ironmace’s fundraising campaign. However, the crowdfunding effort was abruptly halted without any explanation.
“We’re not a big studio and we don’t have an endless supply of money like Nexon. The reality of the situation is that their ultimate goal is to bleed us to death over legal costs. Internally, we know, they know it, the lawyers know it They don’t have any real cases that come before the court, but they are praying that we give in. What concerns us is not the false allegations that have been presented to all the media. Our game was created from the ground up. But we’re afraid we can keep ourselves in this legal battle that they want to drag us into.”
This recent event has created confusion in an already complex situation. Neither Nexon nor Ironmace have yet responded to the incident. We will update the story as new developments arise.