It appears that Dark and Darker Mobile, the eagerly awaited smartphone version of the popular hack 'n slash extraction dungeon crawler, is on the brink of undergoing a significant transformation. Reports indicate that Krafton is not only planning to change the game's name but also intends to terminate its agreement with Ironmace Studio.
This development comes at a challenging time for Ironmace, which has recently been mandated to pay $6 million in damages to Nexon due to an ongoing lawsuit. The core of the dispute revolves around Nexon's allegations that Ironmace, founded by former Nexon employees, utilized trade secrets to develop Dark and Darker based on a canceled project known as P3.
While Krafton asserts that the name change is unrelated to the lawsuit's ruling, they have also confirmed the termination of their global licensing agreement with Ironmace. Consequently, Dark and Darker Mobile (or its future rebranded version) will proceed as a fully standalone release.
The situation brings to light some intriguing ethical questions, particularly given that Ironmace initially filed a lawsuit against Nexon for copyright infringement. Despite the termination of their partnership, Krafton seems poised to continue with the project under a new guise, suggesting that the genre's floodgates are now open for such releases.
For fans eagerly awaiting Dark and Darker Mobile, this news isn't necessarily negative. Krafton has committed to adhering to the previously announced global release schedule. However, should there be any shifts in this plan or further developments in this ongoing saga, we will keep you informed.
We remain hopeful that the full launch of Dark and Darker Mobile will uphold the exceptional quality that earned it high praise in our review.
