Currently, hundreds of players are negatively rating the MMORPG MapleStory on Steam. They criticize the developer Nexon and demand that Dark and Darker should be available on the platform again. What is the reason behind this?
Dark and Darker, a dungeon crawler developed by Ironmace, recently had very successful playtests. Then it suddenly disappeared from Steam. The reason for this is plagiarism allegations from the company Nexon.
Fans of the game find this unfair and chose the Steam reviews of the MMORPG MapleStory as a platform for their anger towards the company.
Serious Allegations Against Dark and Darker
The South Korean developer and publisher Nexon accuses Ironmace of using plagiarized material. According to a South Korean magazine, the founder of Ironmace previously worked at Nexon. There, a project was presented in 2021 that was quite similar to Dark and Darker (via n.news.naver.com).
Nexon accuses Ironmace of stealing the idea, even though it had long since been discarded. They allegedly used parts of the code and assets.
At the beginning of the month, the police therefore searched the studio. At that time, Ironmace stated that nothing had been found and no one needed to worry. This situation has changed since then.
After the game was deleted from Steam, the developers of Dark and Darker wrote on their Discord server:
To all our fans: We recently received a cease and desist letter and a DMCA notice from Nexon regarding Dark and Darker, which is based on distorted claims. We are currently working with our legal team to resolve this matter as best as we can.
MapleStory Receives Terrible Reviews on Steam
The 2D MMORPG MapleStory currently has “Mostly Negative” rating on Steam – The reason: It is developed by Nexon. Fans of Dark and Darker are using Steam to voice their displeasure.
Hundreds of negative reviews have now poured in for a game that is not even related to the debate. Players want Dark and Darker back and demand justice for the developer Ironmace.
We summarize a few of the voices here for you:
- Jersey Mike: “Nexon is ruining Dark and Darker. That’s why I hate them and all products associated with them.”
- BOB: “Nexon is one of the most selfish and greedy companies I have ever seen. Let Dark and Darker go and pay for the damage you have caused.”
- JustFitz: “Leave Dark and Darker alone.”
- Kalebur: “Soulless company that keeps disappointing.”
- HOWARD: “Boycott Nexon until Dark and Darker is free! I never thought Nexon was such a terrible company.”
For April 2023, Dark and Darker originally planned the next playtest. Whether and how seriously the issue will affect this is currently unclear. We will keep you updated on upcoming information.
What do you think about the topic? Are you also angry that Dark and Darker is no longer available on Steam? Do you think it is right that MapleStory is receiving so many negative reviews? Feel free to let us know in the comments here on MeinMMO!
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