Dark and Darker Goes Free-to-Play, But There's a Catch

Behold, adventurers! There's a fantastic extraction dungeon crawler RPG ready for you to devour. Developer IRONMACE has decided that everyone who wants to should be able to play Dark and Darker.

In case you've been trapped in a medieval dungeon and missed it, Dark and Darker was a smash hit on Steam before some controversy saw the game getting removed. Despite its removal, the developers continue to work on Dark and Darker, improving the game in every way and adding new content.

On the official Dark and Darker website, IRONMACE explained that:

We are proud to announce Free-to-Play accounts for Dark and Darker. Free-to-Play accounts allow players to create one character and play Normals on all maps, complete quests, and build a stash of loot! Players who enjoy their time with their free account and want to experience everything the game has to offer can upgrade their accounts to ‘Legendary’ status in a few days with the start of the new season.

We hope that this free version will give players a chance to experience some of what Dark and Darker has to offer, and to give players who have not played since the playtests a chance to see what's new before they dive in and become a ‘Legendary’ adventurer.

That's right, you can now play Dark and Darker for free! There's just one catch: you'll have to install the Blacksmith program, another launcher for your PC. 

Simply head to the official Dark and Darker website, download the Blacksmith launcher, create an account, and follow the easy steps to play the game for free.

Read more: Dark and Darker 2024 Roadmap: Future Updates and Content Plans

Yes, we are still waiting for Dark and Darker to return to Steam or release on the Epic Games Store. The only place you can officially play the game is via the Blacksmith launcher. It is unclear if Dark and Darker will be free-to-play on the Epic Games Store when it launches "soon."

The announcement was made during the One True King (OTK) expo, and fans were delighted. Check out the announcement below.

So there you have it; you can now play Dark and Darker for free if you are willing to install yet another launcher on your PC. The game is excellent, and those who love dungeon crawling and a challenge definitely shouldn't miss out.