Hit PvP dungeon crawler Dark and Darker will release in early access today, confirms developer
Ironmace has partnered with a new storefront for the release, but wants to get Dark and Darker back on Steam ASAP.
The demo for PvP extraction dungeon crawler Dark and Darker was a hit earlier this year, but then Nexon alleged copyright infringement, it got booted off Steam, and its early access release was pushed back. Developer Ironmace persisted, going so far as to distribute a playtest by torrent, and Ironmace CEO Terence Park has now confirmed to PC Gamer that Dark and Darker will release in early access today.
"Yes, the Early Access release date is today, August 7, 2023," Park said in an email.
Dark and Darker has not yet returned to Steam, so Ironmace has partnered with a storefront called Chaf Games for distribution. There's a "purchase" button on Dark and Darker's Chaf Games page, but it doesn't yet work at the time of writing. Ironmace is still self-publishing Dark and Darker, and tells PC Gamer that it wants to get the game back on Steam "as soon as possible."
"We cannot ignore the largest PC storefront in the world," said Park, but it's not clear when that return will be possible, as the Nexon lawsuit has not yet been resolved. The Korean game publishing giant has alleged that Ironmace's founders, former Nexon employees, used copyrighted work from a cancelled Nexon project in the creation of Dark and Darker. Ironmace has denied that allegation, and Park reiterated that denial to PC Gamer today.
"We built Dark and Darker from the ground up here at Ironmace and stand by our work," said Park.
We'll update this story when Dark and Darker is available, assuming the launch goes as planned today.