A year after developer Ironmace managed to get its free-to-play medieval extraction looter Dark and Darker back on digital storefronts amid a lengthy legal tussle with South Korean game company Nexon, it’s been delisted again, this time from the Epic Games Store.
Dark and Darker’s legal troubles began in 2023 (shortly after its demo had a bit of a moment on Steam) when Nexon accused Ironmace of copyright infringement, claiming members of the development team had used “materials and assets they worked on during their time” at Nexon to create Dark and Darker – an accusation Ironmace repeatedly denied.
As the legal accusations continued to fly, Nexon issued a cease and desist order forcing the game off Steam, but things appeared to be looking up for Ironmance after a court dismissed Nexon’s request for an injunction last January. By March, Dark and Darker had released on the Epic Games Store and it finally returned to Steam in June – but it looks like the dance is beginning again, with Dark and Darker having now been removed from the Epic Games Store.
Addressing the situation in a message shared on the official Dark and Darker Discord (as spotted by PCGamesN), developer Ironmace wrote, “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.”