Krafton Ends Deal with Ironmace, Dark and Darker Mobile to be Renamed
The mobile version of the popular dungeon crawler, Dark and Darker, is facing a name change following Krafton's termination of its agreement with developer Ironmace Studio. While Krafton claims the name change is unrelated to Ironmace's recent $6 million court loss to Nexon, the timing is highly suggestive.
The Nexon lawsuit centers on allegations that Ironmace, founded by former Nexon employees, misappropriated trade secrets from a cancelled Nexon project (codenamed P3) to develop Dark and Darker. Ironmace initially countersued Nexon for copyright infringement.
Despite Krafton's assertions of independence, the termination of their licensing agreement effectively makes the mobile release a standalone project. This means Dark and Darker Mobile (or its successor) will launch independently, separate from Ironmace's involvement. The irony isn't lost that while severing ties, Krafton appears poised to continue development under a new name.
Darkest of dungeonsThis situation raises ethical questions, particularly given Ironmace's own lawsuit against Nexon. Regardless, the incident opens the door for more games of this genre to enter the market.
The planned global launch date for the mobile game remains unchanged, according to current information. However, we will provide updates should any alterations to the release schedule or further developments occur. We remain hopeful that the final product will maintain the high quality we observed in our initial review.
