‘Dark And Darker’ fans asked to torrent playtest as theft allegations keep the game from Steam

Dark And Darker developer Ironmace has invited fans to download the action game’s latest playtest through torrenting servers, as the title remains unavailable on Steam due to accusations of theft.

Last month, Dark And Darker was removed from Steam due to a DMCA takedown notice from Nexon, who has accused Ironmace of using stolen assets and code to create the game.

While the Steam takedown and police raids have caused setbacks for Ironmace, the studio – which has denied the allegations and told NME it will “focus on [its] game development” – still plans to run another playtest for Dark And Darker by offering torrented downloads of the game.

“Unfortunately, due to the complexities of our situation, especially across international lines, it is taking time to resolve the Steam situation,” wrote an Ironmace representative on Discord (via Reddit). “In order for us to keep our promise to our fans we’ve had to go old school this time.”

The spokesperson also shared a torrent link for players to download the game, and warned that fans should only download Dark And Darker through the link provided. Additionally, the playtest is unavailable in South Korea due to compliance with the country’s game rating regulations.

“We are deeply sorry to our fans here and will do our best to include all regions in the future,” wrote the Seongnam-based studio.

As for what the latest playtest brings, an in-game pop-up reveals the addition of a Bard class, along with a new area called The Ruins for players to loot for treasure. There are also “new perks, skills, monsters, weapons, and items,” along with “lots of balance changes” for existing features.

Prior to Ironmace’s legal drama, NME found there were “a lot of fantastic ideas worth watching” as Dark And Darker‘s development continues.