Nexon has taken a strong response to the issue of the leak of game development assets. On the 13th of last month, the court partially acknowledged Nexon's claims of trade secret infringement in the first trial and ordered the developer Ironmace to pay 8.5 billion won in damages, but did not accept the issue of copyright infringement. In response, Nexon decided to appeal, stating that this was not just a simple legal dispute but a measure to rectify fair competition in the gaming industry.
Following the first trial ruling, Ironmace's 'Dark and Darker,' developed by the company, was suddenly removed from the global game platform Epic Games Store, indicating that the legal battle is also impacting game services. Additionally, with the controversy surrounding the leak of Nexon's other undisclosed project 'MX BLADE,' the protection of game development assets and intellectual property (IP) disputes have emerged as hot issues in the gaming industry.
On the 11th, a Nexon spokesperson said, 'We believe this case can serve as a wake-up call for fair market competition in the industry and plan to prove the defendant's misconduct more thoroughly through the appellate trial.'
Nexon's claims are clear. They assert that key development materials for their undisclosed project 'P3' were illegally leaked and that Ironmace developed 'Dark and Darker' based on this. Nexon has been developing the P3 project in the FPS-RPG genre since 2019 and claims to have confirmed that Choi, who was the head of the P3 team in 2021, illegally transferred a total of 2,747 build files and over 20 instances of source code to external parties. It is reported that Choi encouraged team members to leave and founded Ironmace, formally starting the development of Dark and Darker in October of that year.
The court ruled that Nexon's accumulated planning documents, system designs, and development directions during the P3 project fall under trade secrets that must be protected, and determined that the defendants used them for improper purposes. In particular, the court notices a strong likelihood that Nexon's development materials were utilized in Ironmace's rapid game release. Quickly seizing the market ahead of competitors was deemed an unjust profit due to trade secret infringement. Therefore, the court assessed Nexon's damages at 8.5 billion won and ordered compensation from the defendants.
The court determined that the design of the extraction shooter genre and dungeon crawler elements of the P3 project, along with the internal system planning documents, qualify as trade secrets that should be protected. Citing that Ironmace recorded approximately 49.5 billion won in sales through Dark and Darker since August 2023, the court stated that Nexon's damages exceeded 8.5 billion won.
However, regarding the issue of copyright infringement, the court’s interpretation differed. The court stated that the game's genre or systematic elements cannot be considered a reproduction of creative expressions that are subject to copyright protection, thus rejecting Nexon's claims. In other words, mere similarities in ideas or game mechanics cannot be recognized as copyright infringement, and there is insufficient evidence that Dark and Darker directly replicated P3's code or art assets. Consequently, the request for the cessation of Dark and Darker's service made by Nexon was dismissed.
Originally, the P3 project was under development with a goal of early access release in November 2021, but the project was halted as key developers left. Nexon lost potential revenue opportunities in the competitive gaming market, and the court partially acknowledged this while delivering the compensation ruling.
After the first trial ruling, the sudden removal of Dark and Darker from the Epic Games Store escalated the controversy. Ironmace stated through its Discord channel, 'This seems to be related to the legal claims raised by Nexon.' There are also analyses suggesting that it is likely a measure to avoid legal risks from the platform's side. Krafton, which was developing the mobile version of Dark and Darker, also announced after the first trial ruling that it would terminate its licensing agreement with Ironmace and completely overhaul the title.
Nexon's stance is becoming increasingly stringent. Recently, the police captured signs that development materials for Nexon's other undisclosed project 'MX BLADE' were leaked, and they conducted a search and seizure of the newly established company Dynamis One, indicating an expanding atmosphere of legal action. Nexon confirmed that some personnel from Dynamis One had leaked core planning and development materials for MX BLADE before leaving, viewing this incident as an important issue for the protection of development assets.
This incident is likely to establish a new standard for the protection of development assets and issues regarding personnel leaks across the gaming industry, going beyond a simple dispute between corporations. There is keen interest in how Nexon's strong response will impact personnel mobility and the protection of development assets between corporations, as well as to what extent the appellate trial results will expand legal standards.
Professor Kim Jeong-tae from Dongyang University’s game department noted, 'It appears that Nexon wants to send a strong signal regarding the issue of development asset leaks through this lawsuit.' He added, 'Historically, when projects are halted internally, it has been a long-standing practice for developers to disperse, but Nexon seems to aim to block this and raise awareness.'
He also stated, 'In the gaming industry, issues regarding the movement of development personnel and copyright have been longstanding debates, and Nexon has had its share of past instances. There is a need for clear standards regarding the protection of intellectual property (IP) and development ethics.'