Nexon Takes Ironmace to Court in the US Over Alleged Theft of Game Assets

A lawsuit has been filed by Nexon in a US court against Ironmace, the development studio behind Dark and Darker, alleging the unauthorized use of trade secrets and copyright infringement. The lawsuit claims that Ironmace relied on assets stolen from Nexon to create the game in a remarkably short period of 10 months. The suit argues that the US court has jurisdiction due to the game's playtests being conducted on Steam, which is owned by Valve, a company based in Washington, and the game's marketing efforts targeting American players. Former Nexon employees, including Ironmace CEO Terence Seungha Park and Ju-Hyun Choi, are named in the complaint for their alleged roles in the theft of Nexon's assets. According to the lawsuit, Choi and Park worked on a game similar to Dark and Darker, codenamed P3, while at Nexon, and later stole the game's source code, audiovisual materials, and other assets to develop Dark and Darker. The lawsuit alleges that Choi solicited team members to work on the project outside of Nexon for personal financial gain, recruiting nearly half of the P3 team, including Park. Nexon is seeking the return of all stolen P3 materials, as well as compensation for damages and attorney fees. The allegations against Ironmace were first made by Nexon in February, with Ironmace denying them at the time. Recently, Korean authorities raided Ironmace's studio, seizing materials related to Dark and Darker. The game's development plans, including an Early Access release in April and a full launch by the end of 2023, have been put on hold after it was removed from Steam following a cease and desist notice from Nexon.