It appears that Dark and Darker Mobile, the eagerly awaited smartphone version of the popular hack 'n slash extraction dungeon crawler, may undergo a name change and other significant alterations. Recent reports indicate that Krafton is not only dropping the current branding but also ending its agreement with Ironmace Studio.

This news comes at an unfortunate time for Ironmace, who have just been ordered to pay $6 million in damages to Nexon due to an ongoing lawsuit. The lawsuit revolves around Nexon's claim that Ironmace, founded by former Nexon employees, utilized trade secrets to develop Dark and Darker, which was allegedly based on a cancelled project known as P3.

While Krafton has stated that the name change is unrelated to the lawsuit ruling, they have also announced the termination of their global licensing agreement with Ironmace. This means that Dark and Darker Mobile, or its future incarnation, will be released as a completely standalone product.

Darkest of dungeonsThe ethical implications of this lawsuit aside, it's somewhat ironic that Ironmace initially filed a suit against Nexon for copyright infringement. Even after ending their partnership, Krafton seems poised to essentially rebrand and proceed independently. This development suggests that the genre's floodgates are now open, regardless of what Nexon might do next.

For fans eagerly anticipating Dark and Darker Mobile, this isn't necessarily negative news. Krafton plans to stick to the previously announced global release schedule. However, should any changes occur or if there are further developments, we will keep you informed.

We hope that the full launch of Dark and Darker Mobile will uphold the high standards we highlighted in our review.