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Dark and Darker's return to steam was a happy occasion for many. However, its launch was the target of controversy, specifically regarding its Free to Play mode. Following this, IRONMACE has released a statement responding to Dark and Darker's launch controversy.
We would like to address the philosophy behind our Free To Play mode.
We are currently working on solutions that take into consideration both existing supporters and new player's feedback.
Read more here: https://t.co/vVJxbgxqzv
— IRONMACE (@IronmaceGames) June 9, 2024
Let's start off by explaining exactly what the controversy is. When Dark and Darker launched again on the Epic Games Store (EGS) and Steam, players were ecstatic, especially since the game is supposedly Free to Play. After downloading the game, however, players realized that this might not be the case.
The main thing that players realized was that if you were Free to Play, you only had access to the game's Normal Mode. This restricted players to Common/White items. If the player tried to equip and bring Uncommon/Green or rarer items, they were not able to do so.
To use higher rarity items, players had to pay $30 to upgrade their account and gain access to the High Roller dungeons, which let players equip whatever they wanted.
This has, understandably, made players mad, with many calling the game “a scam”, “false advertising”, and more. This has also led the game to have a Mixed review rating on Steam, with only 47% of the game's 6,968 reviews as positive.
Following this outrage, IRONMACE recently released a statement on the Dark and Darker Steam page and official website, regarding the launch controversy, titled “The Philosophy Behind Our Free To Play Model.”
In the statement, they started by saying that the game's launch on Steam and the EGS was a major milestone for the game. They then proceeded to try and clear up the misunderstanding.
They said that “throughout the game’s Early Access development, the game was always a paid product”, and that they “intend for the full experience to remain this way.” According to them, this was to uphold their promise to the loyal early adopters, as well as to combat cheaters and RMT.
IRONMACE further explained that it was not “feasible nor fair” to just distribute thousands of keys for the Steam and EGS versions of Dark and Darker to previous customers on Blacksmith, where the game was hosted after the game was previously removed from Steam and EGS, thanks to how exploitable and abusable it would be.
To overcome the “technical, logistical, and contractual hurdles”, they instead decided to transition to a Free to Play model for the game. They then gave previously paying customers the opportunity to carry over their progress from Blacksmith, as well as access to the full game.
As for why they only gave players access to Normal mode in the Free to Play version of the game, they gave two reasons. The first reason was that Normal Mode was a fan-favorite game mode, as it leveled the playing field for everyone thanks to only being able to use common items.
The second reason was to prevent cheaters from ruining the High Roller dungeons by only giving them access to the Normal Mode. That way, they could don't disrupt the experience of the players who paid to access the High Roller dungeons.
Additionally, they wanted the Free to Play model to be a “commitment-free opportunity” for players to see what the game had to offer. Players could complete quests, improve merchant standing, and more without having to pay a single cent.
Although their intentions were good, IRONMACE acknowledges that they “failed to anticipate the expectations that new players would have” with the game. They stated that they “did not intend to deceive players”, and that “the current Normal/High Roller bifurcation is not well designed for F2P players.”
Thankfully, IRONMACE is “looking to make amends” after understanding the “absurdity of that situation.” According to them, they are “currently working on solutions that take into consideration both the needs of existing and new players.”
Their goal is to “give new players the ability to experience a complete loop of a full loot extraction experience and risk their loot while still respecting the loyalty of our existing players.” They are currently working on the details of the plan, and will “make an announcement very soon as details are finalized.”
They closed the statement by thanking players for the “incredible support over the past two years”, and that they “could not ask for a better, more passionate community.”
To summarize everything, the Free to Play launch for Dark and Darker was a means for them to give previously paying players a way to retain their progress while giving new players a way to experience the game before opting for the game's full version.
Their reasoning behind only giving F2P players access to the Normal mode was that Normal Mode was the game mode most paying players liked to play. Additionally, it would help prevent cheaters from ruining High Roller Dungeons, while also giving F2P players a commitment-free way to try the game out for themselves.
They are currently working on a way to make the old and new players happy, and they will provide details once everything is finalized.
I, for one, am happy to see how fast IRONMACE responded to the Dark and Darker controversy. When I first played the game back in 2022, I had a lot of fun, even if the game itself was challenging. That's why I'm looking forward to what IRONMACE will do with the game moving forward.
That's all the information we have about IRONMACE's response to the Dark and Darker launch controversy. Should more information become available regarding what IRONMACE plans to do with the game, we will be sure to let you know.
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