The mobile adaptation of the eagerly awaited hack 'n slash extraction dungeon crawler, currently known as Dark and Darker Mobile, appears to be undergoing a name change. Reports indicate that Krafton is not only dropping the current branding but also ending its agreement with Ironmace Studio. This decision 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 lawsuit centers on Nexon's claim that Ironmace, founded by former Nexon employees, utilized trade secrets to develop Dark and Darker, based on a project codenamed P3 that Nexon had cancelled.
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. Consequently, Dark and Darker Mobile, or its future rebranded version, will proceed as a completely standalone release.
The situation carries a certain irony, given that Ironmace initially filed a lawsuit against Nexon for copyright infringement. Now, even after ending their partnership, Krafton seems poised to continue with the project under a new identity. This development suggests that the genre's market is expanding, regardless of the legal battles surrounding it.
For fans eagerly awaiting Dark and Darker Mobile, this news does not necessarily spell doom. Krafton has confirmed their commitment to the previously announced global release schedule. However, should there be any changes or further developments, we will keep you informed.
We hope that when Dark and Darker Mobile (or its renamed version) fully launches, it will uphold the high standards we highlighted in our review.
Darkest of dungeons
