The much-anticipated game, The Day Before, has had a tumultuous history filled with anticipation, controversy, and ultimately disappointment. It all began with a promising start when Fntastic, the game developers, introduced The Day Before to the world in early 2021. Intended to be an open-world MMO teeming with zombies, where players could engage in settlement-building and looter-shooting, the game's initial reveal sparked considerable excitement among the gaming community.
As time went on, The Day Before gained significant attention, climbing to the pinnacle of Steam's most-wishlisted game rankings. This occurred despite a troubling pattern of multiple delays. In one particularly concerning incident, the game even disappeared from Steam entirely due to what appeared to be a trademark dispute. For gamers eagerly awaiting its release, these issues began to sow seeds of doubt about whether the game would ever come to fruition as promised.
Adding fuel to the fire, criticism arose over Fntastic's employment practices, particularly their use of unpaid volunteers, which led to a backlash against the developers. Furthermore, growing skepticism surrounding the game escalated as more and more people began speculating that The Day Before was nothing more than a scam, given the prolonged absence of substantial gameplay footage.
After a series of setbacks and controversies, The Day Before finally made it to Early Access on December 7th. However, the launch was far from a success. In fact, players' reactions were overwhelmingly negative, with thousands of gamers leaving reviews that dragged The Day Before down to the status of one of Steam's worst-reviewed games. Complaints primarily centered around the game's severe lack of polish, misleading marketing that made it seem more akin to extraction shooters rather than MMOs, and a general deficiency in gameplay quality and overall experience.
This wave of negative reception seemed to confirm the suspicions of many that The Day Before might have been a mismanaged project—or worse, a deliberate scam—after all. In a matter of days, developers Fntastic announced the closure of their studio, citing insufficient funds to continue the development of the game. Although they initially stated that the servers for The Day Before, as well as for their previous game Propnight, would continue running for the time being, the future of the game became very uncertain.
As the saga comes to a close, Fntastic has confirmed that The Day Before's servers will be turned off on January 22nd, 2024—one month from the announcement and less than two months following its Early Access launch. With the game being online-only, this decision effectively renders The Day Before unplayable, marking an abrupt end to a once highly-anticipated game.
In a display of consolation, the publishers Mytona have committed to refunding all players who purchased The Day Before on Steam. This includes those who had already sought refunds and any other players still owning the game, who will receive their refunds automatically. Mytona has expressed gratitude to the community for their support throughout the project's lifespan, though the absence of a development team left them with no other option than to formally conclude the project.
The Day Before's journey from being a potential hit to a notable fiasco in the gaming industry has been quite dramatic and unusual. Critics, including our own Ed, panned the game so fiercely that he likened the experience of playing as being less desirable than enduring physical discomfort. Although the end result was far from what players might have hoped for, with refunds issued to those who invested in the game, there is a silver lining. The story of The Day Before offers poignant lessons about the hybris of grand ambitions, the importance of transparency with fan communities, and the complexities of game development in today's high-stakes industry.
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