MMOexp Dark And Darker: it highlights the lengths

HeulwenLucas

Nexon alleges that Ironmace took assets and ideas from P3 to buy Dark And Darker Gold, which launched its first demo just ten months after Ironmace was formed. The lawsuit claims that ‘the reason Defendants were able to release Dark and Darker so quickly was that they took advantage of the head start given to them by stealing Nexon’s trade secrets – trade secrets that took a team of more than twenty people working for eleven months at Nexon’s expense to develop.’

The lawsuit cites many of the game’s animations as evidence, comparing them to those of P3. Ironmace, however, maintains that most of its assets were generic items purchased from the Unreal Engine Marketplace and would naturally look alike to those of P3. The case will likely hinge on whether Nexon can prove that Ironmace used its trade secrets to create Dark and Darker or if Ironmace legitimately purchased the assets used in the game.

This lawsuit is just one example of the legal battles that can arise in the gaming industry. In 2017, Epic Games filed a lawsuit against a 14-year-old player who was accused of cheating in Fortnite. The case was eventually settled out of court, but Dark And Darker Gold highlights the lengths that developers will go to protect their intellectual property.