Dark and Darker – Game will be removed from Epic Games Store

The dungeon crawler Dark and Darker is facing possibly its biggest setback since its turbulent launch in 2023. Epic Games has announced that it will not only remove the controversial fantasy game from the store, but also delete it completely from all users’ libraries. This drastic measure raises serious questions about the future of the once popular “Fantasy Tarkov”.

Epic Games pulls the plug – Complete removal from libraries

On November 1, 2025, Dark and Darker will disappear completely from the Epic Games Store. This is an unusual step, as games are normally removed from sale but left in owners’ libraries. Epic Games justifies this decision with a court ruling from Korea between Nexon and the developer studio Ironmace.

The game had already been unavailable for purchase since March 2025, but owners were still able to play it. This grace period is now definitely coming to an end. Epic Games will automatically refund all purchases of the “Legendary Status” upgrade, but not the premium currency Redstone Shards.

Epic Games’ decision is remarkable, as the store operator had previously even offered the game for free as part of a promotion. The complete withdrawal signals that Epic Games wants to avoid any risk associated with the legally controversial title.

The legal dispute: Multi-million won defeat for Ironmace

The reason for Epic’s drastic measure lies in a court ruling from February 2025. The Seoul Central District Court ruled that Ironmace had not infringed Nexon’s copyrights, but had misused trade secrets. The penalty: 8.5 billion won, the equivalent of around 6 million US dollars, which Ironmace must pay to Nexon.

The legal dispute began back in 2021, when former Nexon employees founded the Ironmace studio. Nexon accused them of using sensitive data and assets from the discontinued project “P3” for the development of Dark and Darker. These accusations led to police raids, the temporary disappearance from Steam and years of legal proceedings.

Dropping player numbers and financial problems

The legal problems are not the only cause for concern for Dark and Darker. Player numbers are showing a clear downward trend. While there were still over 58,000 concurrent players in June 2024, the current average is only around 8,766 daily players. This corresponds to a decline of over 16% in the last 30 days.

Ironmace is also struggling with financial difficulties. According to a financial report from February 2025, the company’s revenue fell by 24% in 2024, while expenses rose by over 82%. At the same time, the studio has to pay the million-euro fine to Nexon and bear high legal costs.

Steam not affected for the time being

While Epic Games is pulling out, Dark and Darker is still available on Steam. Valve has so far made no move to remove the game from its platform, although there is uncertainty here too. Experts suspect that Steam will wait until concrete legal action is taken against the platform.

The different handling of the two stores shows the complexity of the legal situation. While Epic Games acts proactively to avoid legal risks, Steam traditionally takes a more wait-and-see approach.

Community reactions and design decisions under criticism

The Dark and Darker community is reacting with increasing frustration to the developments. The planned removal of the popular solo and duo modes is particularly controversial. This decision is interpreted as a sign of declining player numbers, as fewer modes should enable a better distribution of the remaining players.

The latest Steam reviews reflect the dissatisfaction: only 27% of the current ratings are positive. Players criticize not only the legal problems, but also questionable design decisions and the perceived standstill in game development.

What does this mean for the future of Dark and Darker?

The combination of legal problems, declining player numbers and financial difficulties poses existential challenges for Dark and Darker. While the game remains available on Steam for the time being, its long-term future is uncertain.

Nexon has already announced that it will appeal and possibly seek an even higher fine. For Ironmace, this means further legal uncertainty and additional costs. The removal from the Epic Games Store also costs important reach and potential new customers.

For fans of the game, the hope remains that either the legal situation will ease or a successor title will continue the concept without the legal legacy. The gaming industry will certainly view the Dark and Darker case as a lesson in the risks that arise when former employees launch new projects with potentially problematic references to their former employers.

The “Fantasy Tarkov” has shown how quickly a promising indie game can fall into an existential crisis due to legal conflicts.
Whether Dark and Darker will survive this now remains to be seen.