2023, DECEMBER 11 – In a surprising turn of events, the saga surrounding The Day Before takes a dark twist as studio Fntastic announces its closure mere days after the game’s early access launch last week. The company shared the news through a statement on its X/Twitter account, citing financial failure as the primary reason. “Today, we announce the closure of Fntastic studio. Unfortunately, The Day Before has failed financially, and we lack the funds to continue. All income received is being used to pay off debts to our partners,” the statement reads. The fate of The Day Before and Propnight remains uncertain, although the servers are expected to remain operational. Notably, the game has been delisted from Steam.
Fntastic emphasises in its statement that it didn’t accept any money from the public during The Day Before’s development, with no pre-orders or crowdfunding campaigns. The team claims to have worked tirelessly for five years, dedicating their efforts to bring the game to life. Meanwhile, Mytona, the publisher, expresses regret that the game didn’t meet player expectations and pledges to work with Steam to facilitate refunds for dissatisfied players. Ongoing discussions with Fntastic will determine the future of the game.
Despite the closure announcement, players had already invested US$39 in early access, prompting refund requests even before the official confirmation. The early access launch faced substantial challenges, with negative reviews flooding the Steam page. The Day Before encountered issues ranging from bugs and server problems to a fundamental discrepancy between its advertised and actual gameplay. Despite being marketed as an open-world MMO, players quickly identified it as more of an extraction shooter. The backlash resulted in a nearly 90% drop in player count within four days, landing it among Steam’s 10 worst-reviewed games of all time.
This troubled launch followed a controversial development period that included unpaid worker allegations, delays, copycat claims, and a trademark dispute. By 2023, community sentiment towards The Day Before had soured considerably, with many accusing it of being a scam.
Following news of the studio’s closure, disgruntled fans are renewing their calls for refunds from Steam.
