The Dark and Darker saga has taken yet another strange twist, as the game has once again been removed from sale—this time from the Epic Games Store. Making the situation even stranger, while the base game has been taken down, the Legendary Status upgrade, which adds a range of paid options and bonuses to free game accounts, is still available for purchase—and developer Ironmace doesn't seem entirely clear on what's going on.
"Epic Games has decided to delist Dark and Darker from the Epic Games Store," Ironmace wrote in the Dark and Darker Discord (via PCGamesN). "The decision appears to be based on claims made by opposing parties in an ongoing legal dispute. We are currently working to understand the exact reasoning behind this removal.
"It seems that the removal process is not yet fully complete, as Dark and Darker is no longer listed, but Dark and Darker: Legendary Status is still available for purchase. Please be aware of this potential confusion."
Ironmace didn't specify who the "opposing parties" might be, but there's one easy guess. The studio has been embroiled in a legal dispute with Nexon over Dark and Darker pretty much since the game first appeared: Simply put, Nexon alleges that Ironmace developed the game using "stolen" code and assets from a project it cancelled in 2021.
A South Korean court recently ruled that Ironmace did not commit copyright infringement with Dark and Darker, but that it did infringe upon Nexon's trade secrets, a distinction that's going to cost Ironmace nearly $6 million.
Despite the win, it's not necessarily the end of the beef. Nexon said the award was "meaningful, as it addresses illegal infringement actions that disrupt fair market competition," but added that it plans to "seek further legal judgment through a higher court." It's possible that the Epic Games Store takedown is related to that, in the same way the legal dispute forced Dark and Darker off of Steam in 2023—although for now, Dark and Darker remains available on Steam.
That, at least, is good news for Ironmace. With all due respect to Epic, the difference between being delisted from the EGS and Steam is like the difference between running over a speed bump and crashing full-speed into the side of a dill pickle factory: One might startle you a bit if you're not paying attention, the other will change your life and quite possibly ruin your clothes.
Which isn't to suggest that Ironmace is going to just let it slide: The studio said on Discord that it's "working on alternative solutions" in case Dark and Darker becomes unplayable on the Epic Store, and will announce more information on that front as soon as it can. In the meantime, I've reached out to Epic to ask why Dark and Darker was delisted in the first place, and will update if I receive a reply.
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