The saga has taken yet another strange twist, as the game has once again been removed from sale—this time from the Epic Games Store. Making the situation even stranger, while the base game has been taken down, the , which adds a range of paid options and bonuses to free game accounts, is still available for purchase—and developer Ironmace doesn't seem entirely clear on what's going on.
"Epic Games has decided to delist Dark and Darker from the Epic Games Store," Ironmace wrote in the Dark and Darker Discord (via ). "The decision appears to be based on claims made by opposing parties in an ongoing legal dispute. We are currently working to understand the exact reasoning behind this removal.
Despite the win, it's not necessarily the end of the beef. Nexon said the award was "meaningful, as it addresses illegal infringement actions that disrupt fair market competition," but added that it plans to "seek further legal judgment through a higher court." It's possible that the Epic Games Store takedown is related to that, in the same way the legal dispute forced Dark and Darker off of in 2023—although for now, Dark and Darker remains available on .
That, at least, is good news [[link]] for Ironmace. With all due respect to Epic, the difference between being delisted from the EGS and Steam is like the difference between running over a speed bump and crashing full-speed into the side of a dill pickle factory: One might startle you a bit if you're not paying attention, the other will change your life and quite possibly ruin your clothes.
Which isn't to suggest that Ironmace is going to just let it slide: The studio said on Discord that it's "working on alternative solutions" in case Dark and Darker becomes unplayable on the Epic Store, and will announce more information on that front as soon as it can. In the meantime, I've reached out to Epic to ask why Dark and Darker was delisted [[link]] in the first place, and will update if I receive a reply.