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‘The Day Before’ shuts down four days after launching

Credit: Fntastic
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Our hunch was correct. After five years of so-called development, post-apocalyptic MMO ‘The Day Before’ has vanished from stores four days into release. Its studio, Fntastic, has also liquidated. All signs point to a scam.

A few hundred days late, and more than a buck short. RIP ‘The Day Before’ (Dec 2023 – Dec 2023).

So, it turns out The Day Before was actually real, it just delivered absolutely nothing that was originally promised and died four days into its ‘early access’ release along with its now defunct studio Fntastic.

Before vanishing like a fart in the wind, the development team released an announcement on Monday citing ‘financial failure’ as the apparently unforeseen fatal blow. Any income generated during the game’s woefully short lifetime is now reportedly being used to pay off debts to partners.

Those who, despite the fishiest of smells, decided to chance their hand and spend $40 on the game are now left to wander a bland, buggy mess of a world which Fntastic cannot afford to patch.

https://youtu.be/SF3MXS8kiZY

Having peaked at 38,000 concurrent players on Steam, a rapidly declining player-base currently sits at around 4,000. Ouch.

The near universally negative feedback stemming from gaming journalists and outlets – including a diabolical 1 rating on IGN – is a far cry from the lofty expectations its reveal set back in summer 2022.

From being among the most wish listed titles on Steam, to now landing itself a spot on Steam’s 10 worst reviewed games ever, The Day Before and any online presence associated with it is rapidly wiping itself from existence.

It won’t be a consolation to those who’ve already been duped, but we’re glad to say we saw and exposed the red flags back in February.

Beyond its billing as a cross between The Last of Us and The Division, we had tiny scraps of information to go on; no story, no discernible gameplay hook, just promise of a dystopian New York playground rife with zombies and other players to fight or befriend.

Looking at the promotional materials in hindsight, almost none of what was shown is reflected in the final product. Instead, five years of apparent ‘blood, sweat, and tears’ in the development process can be traced back to cheap purchases from online asset bins and procedurally generated packages.

‘Its map is lifeless, its enemies are idiotic, its PvP is an exploitable mess, its story is pointless, and its progression is downright infuriating,’ reads an early access review from IGN’s Gabriel Moss.

With our suspicions that Fntastic was not a team of earnest, well-intentioned game makers all but confirmed, it’s disheartening to think that ambitious project reveals of the future may be met with heightened levels of scepticism – especially where smaller studios are involved.

Then again, the question of authenticity within our overloaded internet age extends far beyond the realm of gaming. Consumers are more willing than ever to throw money at someone’s vision without seeing a tangible product in tow. Just look at Kickstarter or GoFundMe.

In a world where NFTs have spawned a multi-billion dollar market, we have to keep our wits about us when discerning what is real and what is a red herring created for profit or clicks.

If you ever want a second opinion on something specific, hit us up.

Gaming Editor London, UK

I’m Jamie (He/Him), the Deputy Editor and a Senior Writer at Thred. Keeping up with social media updates and revolutionary technology is my forte, but when away from my keyboard, you’ll probably find me wrapped around a large Tango ice blast at the latest mediocre horror flick. Follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn and drop me some ideas/feedback via email.

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