It appears that Dark and Darker Mobile, the eagerly awaited smartphone version of the hack 'n slash extraction dungeon crawler, is poised for a significant transformation. Recent reports indicate that Krafton is not only planning to change the game's name but is also severing its agreement with Ironmace Studio.
This development comes at a challenging time for Ironmace, which has been ordered to pay $6 million in damages to Nexon due to an ongoing lawsuit. The lawsuit centers around allegations that Ironmace, founded by former Nexon employees, utilized trade secrets from a cancelled project codenamed P3 to develop Dark and Darker.
Despite Krafton's assertion that the name change is unrelated to the lawsuit ruling, they have also announced the termination of their global licensing agreement with Ironmace. This means that Dark and Darker Mobile (or its future name) will proceed as a completely standalone release.
The ethical implications of this lawsuit are complex, and it's somewhat ironic that Ironmace initially filed a suit against Nexon for copyright infringement. Now, even after ending their partnership, Krafton seems intent on rebranding and moving forward independently. This move suggests that the genre's floodgates are now open, regardless of Nexon's actions against Ironmace.
For fans eagerly awaiting Dark and Darker Mobile, this news isn't necessarily negative. Krafton has confirmed that they will adhere to the previously announced global release schedule. However, should there be any changes or further developments, we will keep you informed.
We hope that the full launch of Dark and Darker Mobile will uphold the high standards we highlighted in our review.
