Less than a week after Fntastic released The Day Before, one of Steam’s most wishlisted games, the developer announced it’s shutting down. The game has seen numerous controversies and accusations throughout its history. Claims state the game used assets from other games and even copied previous material.
News comes from a statement from the official X account of Fntastic. The post reads in part, “Today, we announce the closure of Fntastic studio. Unfortunately, The Day Before has failed financially, and we lack the funds to continue. All income received is being used to pay off debts to our partners.”
With the zombie shooter now out on Steam, it’s received more than 18,000 reviews. A vast majority of them are negative, giving the game a Mostly Negative review score overall. The game was once the top most sought-after title on Steam, but now players are refunding the game in droves.
Players who have been playing the game say what was promised by Fntastic’s marketing was not represented in the final product. It’s listed as an MMO but reviewers say it lacks an open world and it’s more of an “extraction shooter” than an expansive sandbox.
The Day Before has had numerous headlines surrounding its release with many reporting there being controversy dealing with copyright, copying games, and of using volunteers in place of paid employees.
The statement goes on to say that the reason Fntastic is closing is due to a lack of funding. “We really wanted to release new patches to reveal the full potential of the game, but unfortunately, we don’t have the funding to continue work.” It goes on to say that the team did not take money from “the public” during the time the game was in development as there were no pre-orders or crowdfunding backing for The Day Before.
Servers will remain open for both The Day Before and Fntastic’s other game Propnight. However, continued development on both games is unknown as of this time.
The Fntastic website is no longer available. In its place is the full statement regarding the closure.
