Krafton Ends Deal with Ironmace, Dark and Darker Mobile to Get a New Name
The mobile version of the popular dungeon crawler, Dark and Darker, is facing a significant shift. Krafton, the game's publisher, has announced it's terminating its agreement with developer Ironmace Studio, resulting in a name change for the mobile adaptation.
While Krafton claims the name change is unrelated to Ironmace's recent $6 million court loss to Nexon, the timing is certainly conspicuous. Nexon's lawsuit alleges Ironmace, founded by former Nexon employees, used trade secrets from a cancelled Nexon project (codenamed P3) to develop Dark and Darker.
Despite Krafton's assertions, the termination of the licensing agreement effectively makes the mobile release a completely independent project. This means Dark and Darker Mobile (or its successor) will launch as a standalone title, separate from Ironmace's involvement.
Darkest of dungeonsThe situation presents a complex ethical dilemma. Ironically, Ironmace initially sued for copyright infringement. Now, Krafton appears poised to continue development under a new name, seemingly unaffected by the legal fallout. This outcome may open the floodgates for similar genre releases.
The good news for fans is that Krafton intends to proceed with the previously announced global launch schedule. However, we'll provide updates should any changes occur. We eagerly anticipate the mobile launch, hoping it maintains the high quality we experienced in our review.
