The first legal clash between the developer of the PvPvE FPS game Dark and Darker Ironmace and Nexon ended pretty much in a draw as preliminary injunctions from both parties have been dismissed.
Today Ironmace posted on its official Discord server that Nexon's application for a preliminary injunction against the release of Dark and Darker has been dismissed by a Korean court.
According to the developer, the court found that Nexon's allegation and evidence were not sufficient to shut down the game's service.
That being said, Ironmace also expressed disappointment about the court's opinion on unfair competition. This is a bit more obscure, but it refers to a preliminary injunction request Ironmace itself filled in response to Nexon's filings, demanding that they stop interfering with their business.
This request has been dismissed by the court as well over the possibility that Ironmace's behavior may constitute unfair competition, pretty much turning the result of the first round of the legal battle into a draw.
Ironmace mentions that they believe the dismissal of their preliminary injunction request is due to the limitations to evidence in the preliminary injunction process. The developer believes that a full and thorough evidentiary hearing will reveal the truth about the unfairness of Nexon's claims and the innocence of Ironmace.
Ironmace also adds that despite the challenges, the game has been able to survive thanks to the support of players around the world, concluding with the promise to do its best to build Dark and Darker into a solid game that will last for more than a decade.
While both preliminary injunction requests have been dismissed, this result likely paves the way for the distribution of the game in Korea. Notably, it even received an official age rating at the beginning of the month.
On the other hand, we don't know whether it could help Ironmace in bringing the game back to Steam. Valve removed the game from its storefront following a DMCA takedown notice from Nexon.
Of course, this doesn't mean that Ironmace is out of the woods. This is just the first step, and the evidentiary hearing will be crucial in determining the trajectory of Dark and Darker, which has been made available in early access in August 2023 for PC.
