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Police raid Dark and Darker developer Ironmace's studio over legal battle with Nexon

Ironmace says there will be no development delays and that there is nothing to worry about.

Donovan Erskine

March 9, 2023 8:30 AM

Ironmace Games

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Dark and Darker has been one of the more fascinating games to follow in the indie space. The class-based RPG marries Escape From Tarkov with classic fantasy elements. Developer Ironmace Games has been accused of some illegal practices, and it prompted the authorities to get involved. Ironmace’s studio was reportedly raided by the police over accusations that the developer stole code from Nexon.

The news of Ironmace being raided came from a Yonhap News report. Essentially, Nexon believes that Ironmace stole code from the company and is using it to build Dark and Darker. These concerns stem from the fact that Nexon was previously working on a game similar to Dark and Darker back in 2021 titled P3. The game would eventually get canceled, and ex-Nexon devs would found Ironmace Games.

The split between Nexon and the developers that would go on to create Ironmace Games wasn’t an amicable one. According to the Korea Joongang Daily, one of the ex-Nexon workers was caught leaking company files, and even encouraged co-workers to quit and work on a game similar to P3. As word of the police raid began to circulate online, Ironmace Games provided a statement in its Discord, which it also shared on Twitter.

It is currently unclear what the result of the police raid was, or what will happen next in this saga. That’s everything to know about the ongoing situation between Ironmace Games and Nexon. We’ll be sure to update you with future information right here on Shacknews. As of now, Dark and Darker is still targeting a launch later this year.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_