Dark and Darker early access delayed "a bit" as Nexon lawsuit continues

Developer Ironmace Games has delayed the early access release of its mediaeval extraction looter Dark and Darker as it remains embroiled in a legal dispute with Korean game publisher Nexon over "copyright infringement".

Dark and Darker received a hugely positive reception when it made a Steam Next Fest appearance earlier this year, but things went quickly awry.

In March, Nexon accused Ironmace of "using materials and assets they worked on during their time" at Nexon to create Dark and Darker, soon after issuing a cease and desist demand which resulted in the game's removal from Steam. This has forced the developer to get creative as it continues to release new playtest builds to players.

Since then, Nexon has formally filed a lawsuit against Ironmace, alleging "copyright infringement" - Ironmace accused it of "anti-competitive bully tactics" in return - and the ramping up of legal action has inevitably further hampered the studio's early access release plans, which were originally targeting late April to early May this year.

"We truly hate not being able to communicate as freely as we usually do," Ironmace wrote in a message on its Dark and Darker Discord (thanks PC Gamer), "however due to the sensitive nature of our current situation, we can't divulge too much information right now".

"I know this isn't the announcement everyone wanted to hear," the developer continued, "but we needed to let our fans know that the Early Access release has been delayed a bit."

Ironmace says it's currently "working on a ton of things to ensure the game gets out to you as soon as possible" and asks players to "hold the line just a little longer."