The Day Before developer Fntastic announces immediate closure days after launch

Fntastic announces their closure days after The Day Before’s launch on Steam Early Access

Just days after the launch of The Day Before (TDB), Fntastic has announced that they are shutting down with immediate effect. In a statement on X, the company has stated that The Day Before has “failed financially”. Now, the studio lacks the funds to continue development, which means that TDB will never be finished.

Today, The Day Before is no longer available to purchase on Steam. Since the game will never be finished, it makes sense for the game’s Early Access version to be removed from sale. This is especially true given the game’s buggy state.

The Day Before launched on Steam Early Access last week to “Overwhelmingly Negative” reviews. For a time, TDB was one of Steam’s most wishlisted games, but it failed to live up to the hype. Moreover, the game was not what was promised. Instead of an open-world survival MMO, gamers received an extraction shooter (like Escape From Tarkov).

Official statement. #fntastic #thedaybefore #propnight pic.twitter.com/AKcRHeIaIW

— Fntastic (@FntasticHQ) December 11, 2023

Fntastic has stated that all of their income will go towards paying off their debts and partners. The studio has stressed that they have taken no public money during the development of The Day Before. There was no Kickstarter campaign, pre-orders or crowdfunding of any kind. While a lot of people have claimed that TDB is a “scam”, the more likely scenario is that Fntastic were out of their depth and were unable to deliver on their vision.

Today, the player count of Fntastic’s shooter has dropped to little more than 750. On day-1, the game has reached a peak player count of 38,104. This player count quickly dropped off, and it is likely that a large proportion of the game’s owners have refunded the game on Steam.

You can join the discussion on Fntastic’s sudden closure on the OC3D Forums.