Earlier today, Fntastic revealed it was closing its doors just days after it launched The Day Before in Early Access. The developer claimed it “failed financially,” and by that, it meant the game was refunded by roughly half those who bought and played it. 

In images from a leaked Telegram chat with Fntastic CEO Eduard Gotovtsev, 46 percent of players opted to get a refund for the game within Steam’s appropriate two-hour window. As noted by analyst Simon Carless, the game initially sold 201,000 Steam units, nearly 91,700 of which were then returned. 

What’s more, the game has had zero sales in the handful of days since its EA release, and earned a largely negative reception on Steam. It’s player count dropped by 75-80 percent in its first day, and by its second day, it fell out of Steam’s global top sellers list. 

“The game…did not pay off,” reads Fntastic’s data, adding that it’s performed “even worse” than the studio’s 2021 game Propnight. 

In its statement confirming the studio’s closure, Fntastic underlined that it invested all our efforts, resources, and manpower” in the game’s development, while simultaneously swearing it didn’t take any customer money prior to release. 

The Day Before will remain operable for the foreseeable future, though it’s unclear who will maintain the game when Fntastic was both its developer and publisher.

How many people bought & refunded The Day Before? According to a (leaked?) Telegram message from Fntastic’s CEO Eduard Gotovtsev, it’s had 201,000 buyers and 91,700 refunders – a 46% refund rate! pic.twitter.com/eeL669pRzi

— Simon Carless (@simoncarless) December 11, 2023