'The Day Before has failed financially,' says Fntastic as it closes down shop
The end of a strange story
Fntastic has shut its doors four days after releasing its controversial multiplayer zombie game, The Day Before.
The studio announced its end via a post on Twitter, citing poor finances as the reason. "The Day Before has failed financially, and we lack the funds to continue," the post reads. "All income received is being used to pay off debts to our partners.
"We invested all our efforts, resources, and man-hours into the development of The Day Before, which was our first huge game. We really wanted to release new patches to reveal the full potential of the game, but unfortunately, we don't have the funding to continue the work."
There's been a great deal of controversy around The Day Before's release. Only a few days ago, the developers pleaded on social media not to accuse them of scamming. Since the post-apocalyptic game was announced in 2021, it has faced alleged trademarking issues, being delisted from Steam, and multiple delays. Many thought The Day Before wouldn't see the light of day.
In light of these previous controversies, Fntastic remarked, "It's important to note that we didn't take any money from the public during the development of The Day Before; there were no pre-orders or crowdfunding campaigns."
However, this does nothing to help players who have already purchased the zombie game on Steam for $39.99/ £33.50/ AUD$58.50. Currently, the reviews on Steam for The Day Before are overwhelmingly negative. Many players are complaining about bugs and other damaging issues; one user claims that all their loot and equipment were deleted when changing servers.
As of now, the future of The Day Before, as well as the multiplayer hide-and-seek game Propnight, is uncertain. However, for the time being, the servers will remain open.
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Elie is a Features Writer for TechRadar Gaming, here to write about anything new or slightly weird. Before writing for TRG, Elie studied for a Masters at Cardiff University JOMEC in International Journalism and Documentaries – spending their free time filming short docs or editing the gaming section for their student publications.
Elie’s first step into gaming was through Pokémon but they've taken the natural next step in the horror genre. Any and every game that would keep you up at night is on their list to play - despite the fact that one of Elie’s biggest fears is being chased.