“The Day Before” went from one of the most anticipated games of the year to receiving a flood of negative reviews. Now, the developers behind the game are closing up shop.
Mytona Fntastic/Steam
“The Day Before,” a highly anticipated post-apocalyptic MMO, came out Thursday.Now, the studio behind the game is shutting down, calling the game’s release a “financial failure.”Players criticized the game for glitchiness and for looking nothing like it did in trailers.
The studio behind the video game “The Day Before,” has shut down, just days after releasing the highly anticipated title for early access Thursday and getting hit with a flood of negative reviews. Users complained that the game was glitchy and nothing like the footage shown in trailers.
“The Day Before” was meant to be an open-world survival massive multiplayer online game, or MMO, according to a May 2022 blog post from Steam, a video game distribution platform.
According to Steam, “The Day Before” was the most wish-listed game on the platform. It was originally supposed to be released in June 2022 but got delayed.
“The Day Before” was supposed to take players into a post-apocalyptic America following a deadly zombie outbreak, according to its Steam page. Developer Fntastic released the game on Thursday, and players were able to buy early access for $40, according to Forbes.
Now, less than a week later, Fntastic said in a statement on its website and X page that the game’s launch had “failed financially” and that the company is unable to continue operations. The company also said that all the money it made is being used to “pay off the debts to our partners.”
Some users complained that the game had bugs and glitches, progressed slowly, or was not an MMO as advertised, according to Engadget. Some also criticized the concept as unoriginal.
The game sold over 200,000 copies, according to PC Gamer, despite Fntastic saying that it was a failure.
“This was our first big experience,” Fntastic said in a post on X. “Shit happens.” This post was met with an overwhelmingly negative response from fans.
Other than Fntastic’s activity on X, the company seems to be trying to erase itself from social media. Its YouTube channel has no videos, its LinkedIn is down, and the Discord server for “The Day Before” is no longer accepting new members.
“The Day Before” is rated 4.6 out of 10 on IGN, and 85% of reviews on Steam are negative.
Fntastic’s release of the post-apocalyptic MMO game “The Day Before” backfired. Over 20,000, mostly negative, reviews can be seen on its Steam Page.
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How to get a refund
If you are in the group of people who purchased “The Day Before” and now you want a refund, you’re in luck.
Those who purchased the game can request a refund up to two weeks after buying it. Typically, Steam only lets users refund games that they played for less than two hours, according to Engadget.
Fntastic posted on X saying that it’s working with Steam to ensure that any player who wants a refund will be able to get one.
#thedaybefore #fntastic #mytona
Answer to those who ask for a refund. Mytona and we’re currently working with Steam to allow refunds for any player who chooses to request one, regardless of game time. Fntastic received $0 and will receive nothing from The Day Before sales.
— Fntastic (@FntasticHQ) December 12, 2023
To request a refund on Steam, go to help.steampowered.com and log in. You can then go to purchases, and click on the game you want to refund. Then, you can click “I’d like to request a refund,” and then fill out the request form.