After almost a year of downtime, Dark and Darker has returned to Steam. With controversial legal issues and changes in pricing, there’s a lot behind this news that newcomers might be wondering about. So why was Dark and Darker removed from Steam?
Dark and Darker: Why Was It Not On Steam?
Dark and Darker was removed from Steam a little over a year ago due to legal issues from Nexon. Apparently, Ironmace received a cease and desist letter and DMCA takedown from Nexon based on distorted claims. Shortly after, Dark and Darker was removed from Steam, and Ironmace’s social media posts became measured in their expressions and limited in what they could say as they began dealing with these claims.
Essentially, the issue was around Nexon accusing Ironmace regarding Dark and Darker’s “stolen” code. Furthermore, Nexon claimed that certain assets were also stolen. The controversy and legal battle turned out not to be so black and white, with some alleged Nexon leaks perhaps being used by other games. However, Ironmace did emerge with a legal win in a South Korean court in January with the verdict that Dark and Darker “cannot be viewed as infringing on Nexon’s copyright or trade secrets.”
Ultimately, Dark and Darker was relaunched on Steam on June 7 as a free-to-play title. That said, the experience was more akin to a demo than an actual game with a $30 paywall to unlock full-game content. Even though Dark and Darker is back on Steam, the reviews have turned from mostly positive to mixed on account of the misleading F2P tag. You’ll need to pay $30 to unlock more character slots, High-Roller Dungeons, trading, shared stash, and many more full-game features.
And that’s why Dark and Darker was removed from Steam. For more, see our Dark and Darker guide hub, and check out how to fix connection errors.
