The MMO (multiplayer online) game “Dark and Darker”, developed by Ironmace, a group of ex-Nexon employees, has been removed from the store steam After allegations of theft were raised.
The game allegedly bears many similarities to a title previously in development at Nexon, which was eventually cancelled. After Nixon was suspected of theft, the police were called in to investigate the case.
about the complaint
According to Nexon’s lawyers, the game could not be created independently due to the amount of similarities, both in rules and gameplay.
After filing the complaint, Nexon contacted the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) against the Ironmace-developed game, which was removed from Steam. The order from Nexon was announced and can be found below:
Nexon has learned that IRONMACE Co., Ltd. (“Ironmace”) is making unauthorized use of Nexon’s trade secrets and copyrighted material, as detailed below.
This letter is to report Ironmace misconduct that constitutes misappropriation of Nexon trade secrets and copyright infringement and to request that Valve pull all versions of Dark and Darker from Steam. “
Ironmace’s answer
Facing accusations of plagiarism and the game’s disqualification on Steam, Ironmace also commented on Discord:
To all of our fans, we recently received a cease and desist letter and DMCA revocation from Nexon regarding Dark and Darker based on distorted allegations.
We are currently working with our legal team to resolve this issue as best we can.
Given the delicate legal nature of this issue, we must be careful with our statements so as not to jeopardize our position.
We ask for your understanding as we work to get the game back on track as quickly as possible. Know that we will do everything possible for our fans. Thanks!”
