Police raid office of game developer accused of data theft

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Police raid office of game developer accused of data theft

Dark and Darker, the massively multiplayer online (MMO) game developed by Ironmace [IRONMACE]

Dark and Darker, the massively multiplayer online (MMO) game developed by Ironmace [IRONMACE]

 
Police on Tuesday raided the office of local game developer Ironmace, which is suspected of stealing assets and personnel from game company Nexon to make its own game Dark and Darker.
 
The raid took place at Ironmace’s office in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, with police seizing company material related to Dark and Darker.
 
In August 2021, Nexon reported a former employee, identified simply as Leader A, for leaking the game company’s data and assets while working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic.
 
The employee was the leader of a game development project, which had been tentatively titled P3, and was fired from Nexon in July 2021 after getting caught leaking “thousands” of files the project needed.
 
The police turned over the case in August 2022 to Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office, which demanded last December that the police investigate further to dig up more evidence.
 
“We verified that Leader A, the then-chief of the P3 project team, had leaked thousands of files including the source codes and builds, mostly related to project development, to an outside server they owned,” Nexon’s legal team said in a notice to employees on Wednesday without disclosing the real name of the suspect.
 
“We also found that Leader A had suggested to teammates of the P3 project that they quit the company and work together on a game similar to P3, citing outside investment sources and more.”
 
Founded in 2002, Nexon is one of Korea’s largest game developers and publishers, best known for online game franchises MapleStory, KartRider and Dungeon Fighter.
 
It is listed on the Tokyo Exchange with a market cap of 2.67 trillion yen ($19.4 billion) as of Wednesday.
 
Top: A picture of P3, the game Nexon started developing in 2020 Above: A picture of Dark and Darker, a game developed by Ironmace [EACH COMPANY]

Top: A picture of P3, the game Nexon started developing in 2020 Above: A picture of Dark and Darker, a game developed by Ironmace [EACH COMPANY]

 
Ironmace was founded in October 2021 — two months after Nexon fired Leader A — by Park Seung-ha, who was also part of the P3 team.
 
Half of the 20-person P3 team quit Nexon and joined Ironmace — including the aforementioned Leader A — forcing Nexon to tweak the P3 project in a different direction and call it P7.
 
Ironmace describes itself as “a merry band of veteran game developers disillusioned by the exploitative and greedy practices we once helped create” on its website.
 
Dark and Darker is a massively multiplayer (MMO) game with a Medieval dungeon adventure theme where players conquer a dungeon by fighting off monsters and finding hidden treasure.
 
According to Nexon, the game has “striking similarities with the concept for P3 in major gameplay, rules and arts, which could not have been made independently.”
 
The Ironmace game was released on Steam for test play last August and recorded 100,000 simultaneous players despite being unfinished. The game is set for early access in April and official release in the fourth quarter this year.
 
“Had 'P3' been developed normally inhouse, it would have been presented to users under the name ‘Mint Rocket,’” Nexon’s notice said, citing the game company’s brand introduced last May.
 
“The project couldn't see the light of day due to unethical actions from former colleagues, despite the passion shared at P3," said Nexon.
 
"We will take firm measures not only against Leader A but anyone else or any other company related to the data leak.”
 
A picture of Nexon office in Seongnam, Gyeonggi [NEWS1]

A picture of Nexon office in Seongnam, Gyeonggi [NEWS1]

 
Ironmace denied allegations through online posts on game community service Discord but is currently not communicating with the local media directly.
 
“Do not worry too much about what you hear regarding Nexon,” a user claiming to be an Ironmace employee wrote on Discord on Wednesday.
 
“Most of what you will see on the internet is not accurate. There will be no delay in development, and there is nothing to worry about.”
 
The user also claimed that while police came and checked, the process went quickly, and nothing was found.
 
The tech industry has long been sensitive about intellectual property and data, but the Nexon-Ironmace case is especially important as it could set a major example for future fights involving former employees developing their own games from leaked data.
 
Should the case go unpunished, it would discourage game companies from investing in new game development and lead to a tighter grip on employees, leading to more rigid work environments, insiders say.
 
“If it becomes OK for someone to steal the assets of a company to make their own games, game companies will have no choice but to cut back on investment in new development,” said an executive at a major game company who wished to remain anonymous.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]
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