Dark and Darker is officially here, but Steam users will miss out

The Korean video game developer Ironmace has finally found a platform to distribute its PvPvE title Dark and Darker after legal woes.

Dark and Darker has officially been released, but it’s not available on Steam. It’s unclear whether the game will return to the largest PC game platform, but fans can still play the indie crawler by going through a few hoops. 

The indie fantasy dungeon game Dark and Darker was set to be released earlier this year but was delayed after it was pulled from Steam due to accusations of plagiarism levied against Ironmace by Koren gaming giant Nexon. A legal battle saw Ironmace look towards publishers other than Steam, leading to Chaf Games being the new platform. 

How to download Dark and Darker

Players can download Dark and Darker from the official website or from Chaf Games’ page. 

Dark and Darker was set to be released on Steam in early access until a legal battle resulted in a DMCA and copyright strike against the game’s developers. According to reports, Nexon accused Ironmace of stealing their code for a game called P3, which was canceled in development. Ironmace does have former Nexon employees working under their umbrella, but the developer has denied the accusations, calling them baseless. 

Still, the legalities of the case continue, and instead of wasting time, Ironmace has now decided to go through with the release anyway. Considering Steam is one of the largest PC game platforms, Ironmace did risk missing out on a large player base, especially in Korea, where the game’s still unpublished.

However, Dark and Darker has still managed to draw in wild traffic, breaking Chaf Games’ website as more players try downloading the game. Ironmace is now working to resolve all server-related and traffic issues.

Message from the Chaf Games Team:

Dear DaD Community

We would like to extend our sincerest apologies for the recent challenges you may have faced while trying to access our game. Due to an unexpectedly high volume of traffic, our servers encountered database issues which may…

— IRONMACE (@IronmaceGames) August 7, 2023

Dark and Darker price

Dark and Darker Standard Edition is priced at $35, and Founder’s Edition can be purchased for $50. The latter includes a unique item, skin, emotes, and more.