Dark and Darker, the fantasy-themed extraction shooter that recently released in early access, is receiving its first account wipe today, as developer Ironmace looks to even the playing field in an ongoing battle against in-game cheaters.

Account-wipes are par for the course for extraction-style games like Dark and Darker and Escape From Tarkov, which heavily revolve around players accumulating wealth and gear. But Dark and Darker's first one comes after only a few weeks of early access. As posted on the official Dark and Darker Discord server and on Twitter, Ironmace said the need for an account wipe came "much sooner than expected" as a result of challenges from "exploiters." The wipe will reset all character levels and delete all gold and items earned over the course of the past few weeks, including those who cheated their way to riches, making for a fresh, and hopefully more fair, starting point for players.

"We have learned from this experience and have updated the game and our services to be more robust against these adversaries," Ironmace said. "In the future, it is our hope to have more time between Early Access wipes and to give more ample notification."