Dark and Darker playtest extended following false bans and other issues

Dark and Darker
(Image credit: Ironmace)

The playtest for Dark and Darker has been extended to make up for servers being down and players receiving bans in error during the event.

Developer Ironmace has announced that the latest playtest for its promising dark fantasy multiplayer title has been extended by three days. Originally set to conclude at the end of Steam Next Fest, which wraps up today on February 13, players can dwell in the dungeons for a few days longer as the playtest will now end on February 16 instead.

In a post on Steam, the developer explained that the extension is to compensate for "the earlier downtime with the trading post, matchmaking, and lost playtime for players that were falsely banned." This also affords the developer some extra time to iron out the kinks ahead of the game's launch, which will likely be towards the end of the year at the earliest. 

"Unfortunately, we will not be splitting the leaderboard into 2 splits like the previous playtest," Ironmace added. "Thank you for your understanding and we hope to see you in the dungeons for a few more days!"

Dark and Darker's third playtest was a resounding success on Steam reaching a concurrent player count of 69,533. Amazingly, the latest one blows those figures well and truly out of the water. A look at SteamDB shows that it's reached a peak of 108,520, making it one of the most popular games on Valve's platform right now.

If you've not yet heard of Dark and Darker, think Skyrim's fantasy style mixed with unforgiving Escape from Tarkov-like gameplay, and you'll have a pretty good idea of what to expect. As a party of three, you explore a dark dungeon, battling enemies, and competing with other players for the treasures contained within. 

Check out our Dark and Darker class guide for info on all the game's playable classes.

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Anne-Marie Ostler
Freelance Writer

Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and GamesRadar+. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.

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