Dark and Darker Dev Restructures Leadership Ahead of Court Battle with Nexon

Dark and Darker (Image Credit: Ironmace)

Game developer Ironmace has shaken up its top leadership right before a major legal showdown with Nexon over the hit game Dark and Darker. On July 16, the studio announced that co-founder Choi Joo-hyun is stepping in as the new CEO, while former CEO Park Seung-ha is moving into the role of president.

According to Ironmace, the management changes are part of a broader plan to handle the evolving global game market more efficiently. While that may sound like standard corporate talk, the timing — just a day before the next court hearing — is hard to ignore. It feels like a move aimed at strengthening the company’s position as it heads into a high-stakes legal battle.

Choi Joo-hyun, now CEO, is one of Ironmace’s founding members and has been heavily involved in the development of Dark and Darker since day one. Before launching Ironmace, Choi worked at Nexon Korea, Smilegate, and Thingsoft, where he contributed to well-known titles like KartRider, Curare: Magical Library, and Tango Five.

As for Park Seung-ha, the newly appointed president, he brings more than 20 years of experience in online game development. With a background at Neowiz and Thingsoft, Park will now focus on building Ironmace’s global brand and strengthening connections with partners and players around the world.

What’s Going On with Nexon?

Here’s where things get messy. Ironmace has been in a legal dispute with Nexon since 2021. Nexon claims that Choi, back when he was working as a team leader on Nexon’s internal Project P3, took source code and other data with him when he left — and later used it to create Dark and Darker.

In the first civil trial earlier this year, the Seoul Central District Court ruled that Dark and Darker didn’t infringe Nexon’s copyright. That was a win for Ironmace. But the court also found that trade secrets had been violated, and ordered Ironmace to pay a hefty ₩8.5 billion (about $6 million USD) in damages.

Not surprisingly, both companies have appealed. The second trial hearing is scheduled today, for July 17, and it's expected to bring more clarity to the case.