A Yonhap Information (opens in new tab) report (Google translated (opens in new tab)) says police in South Korea have searched the workplace of Darkish and Darker (opens in new tab) developer Ironmace and seized supplies associated to the mission. The raid within the metropolis of Seongnam was reportedly linked to allegations that the sport is being constructed utilizing code and property stolen from Nexon.
Nexon was reportedly engaged on an analogous mission, revealed in 2021 as P3, earlier than pulling the plug on growth later that 12 months. Ironmace was based shortly afterward, and consists of former Nexon staff who apparently did not half with the corporate on the very best of phrases: The Ironmace web site (opens in new tab) describes the studio as “a merry band of veteran sport builders disillusioned by the exploitative and grasping practices we as soon as helped create.”
A grievance over the matter was reportedly filed by Nexon with Gyeonggi Southern Police Company in August 2021. The Yonhap report says the Gyeonggi Southern Police forwarded the matter to the Seongnam Department of the Suwon District Prosecutor’s Workplace in August 2022, which requested a “supplementary investigation” in December.
Ironmace denied the allegations (opens in new tab) in February, saying that “completely no stolen property or code had been used to make our sport.” It additionally described a lawsuit filed by Nexon towards not less than one former worker who moved to Ironmace as a “separate private matter.”
In messages posted to the Darkish and Darker Discord (opens in new tab), an Ironmace worker utilizing the title Graysun acknowledged that the police search occurred however mentioned “nothing was discovered.” Additionally they really useful that followers “not fear an excessive amount of about what you hear relating to Nexon.”
“Most of what you will note on the web isn’t correct,” Graysun wrote. “There might be no delay in growth, and there may be nothing to fret about.”
Ironmace shared the identical message to a wider viewers by way of Twitter:
Don’t belief all the pieces on the web. Heres a message from the devs in regards to the Nexon drama.#DarkAndDarker pic.twitter.com/4BfZ38TU8AMarch 8, 2023
Darkish and Darker, “an unforgiving hardcore fantasy FPS dungeon PvPvE journey,” made an enormous splash through the Steam Subsequent Fest that ran in February, changing into one of many high ten most-played video games on Steam (opens in new tab). The studio just lately introduced that it has determined to do yet one more spherical of playtesting (opens in new tab) earlier than a deliberate launch into early entry: The fifth and presumably closing check session will run April 14-19 on Steam.
I’ve reached out to Ironmace for extra data on the Darkish and Darker search and seizure, and can replace if I obtain a reply.
