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This past Thursday, December 7, Fntastic’s The Day Before launched on Steam. Now on Monday, December 11 (today), Fntastic is closing its doors.
“Unfortunately, The Day Before has failed financially, and we lack the funds to continue,” Fntastic explained. According to the developer, all the income the game’s received thus far is being used to pay off debts incurred by the company to its various development partners.
The Day Before is a zombie extraction shooter that, prior to release, quickly became one of Steam’s most wishlisted games. Originally announced in 2021, the game was briefly delisted at the start of 2023 because of a trademark claim regarding its title, but was later resolved.
At time of writing, the game’s launched to largely negative reviews on Steam, not unlike Overwatch 2’s debut on the platform earlier in the year.
The odd saga of Fntastic and The Day Before comes to an end
In its statement, Fntastic noted that it never took money (read: pre-orders or crowdfunding campaigns) from the public during the game’s development. “We invested all our efforts, resources, and manpower into [its development].”
Fntastic opened in 2015 and released titles such as The Wild Eight and Dead Dozen. But for all intents and purposes, this was intended as its “first huge game.”
Had Day Before become a sales success, the developer would’ve released patches to help the game hit its “full potential.” But with its closure, it said the fate of both that game and its 2021 title Propnight are unknown. Both games will remain operational in the meantime.
“We did everything within our power,” the studio concluded. “But unfortunately, we miscalculated our possibilities. Creating games is an incredibly challenging endeavor.
Prior to release, outlets such as Kotaku provided a timeline to The Day Before’s controversial development, which you can read here.
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