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While commenting on the controversial DMCA takedown of Dark and Darker on his most recent stream, EsfandTV revealed that the title was rejected from last year's OTK Games Expo.
The One True King co-owner couldn't control his laughter as he told his viewers that the reason was because of how the game looked at the time. The extraction-type offering set in a medieval fantasy world had gained quite a fan-following before getting removed from Steam due to Nexon's copyright claims.
The move has gained widespread scrutiny from streamers and popular internet personalities alike. EsfandTV's claim about it being rejected from the OTK Games Expo last year has got fans talking, especially after he claimed that the game did not get in because of how it looked at the time.
"The game looked like a**": Esfand explains why Dark and Darker was rejected by OTK Games Expo
While reading up on the DMCA takedown sent by Nexon to Ironmace and allegations of stealing codes and assets, the streamer suddenly shared an anecdote about the game being a candidate for the OTK Games Expo in June 2022. For those unaware, the Texas-based gaming and content creation organization hosted the event last year in a bid to promote upcoming indie games.
The showcase had about 30 participants and was sponsored by Intel, Razer, and Gamer Fuel with over a $50k prize pool to recognize the most promising developers for their various games. Considering that Dark and Darker is made by the up-and-coming developers at Ironmace, it was of little surprise that they wanted to showcase the game at the event.
However, their bid was rejected by the organizers as EsfandTV revealed:
"So, Dark and Darker actually applied for the OTK Games Expo last year."
Considering the game's recent positive reception by a large section of the gaming community, his viewers were naturally curious about the rejection and EsfandTV offered the answer without any persuasion:
"But they weren't in the show and it's 'cus the game looked like a**!"
Timestamp 2:26:36
Clearly commenting on the game's condition in the early stages of development, the streamer maintained that Dark and Darker did not look that good back in May 2022 when the OTK Games Expo was announced. He even went as far as to say that the developers agreed with his characterization, to the extent that the rejection motivated them to make it better:
"The game didn't look good, yeah. The game didn't look good. Now, here's the thing - if you're going to ask the Dark and Darker people, they would agree. In fact, they said not getting into the Games Expo was like a huge motivation for them."
Reddit Reactions to EsfandTV's clip
Most of the comments on r/LivestreamFail were quite sympathetic towards the game. Many also revealed how another OTK co-owner, Sodapoppin, was the reason they heard of the title in the first place:
The controversy surrounding the game and Nexon's cease-and-desist letter to Ironmace has become a hot topic in the gaming community with people like Charlie "MoistCr1TiKaL" and others speaking out on the issue.
Here's a full rundown of the lawsuit and what it means for the game.
