The Day Before developer shuts down, days after game’s release
Last Thursday, the studio behind “post-apocalyptic open-world MMO survival” game The Day Before launched the game that had become Steam’s most-wishlisted title based on a splashy reveal trailer. On Monday, the studio said it was shutting down and that no more updates will be released for The Day Before.
Developer Fntastic announced its closure on X in a statement that read, “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.”
The Day Before launched in a rough, early access state on Steam, without the gameplay or features that players expected based on a series of trailers released by Fntastic. What was pitched as an open-world MMO set in a world of zombies was more like an extraction shooter, critics of the game said. Early reviews from players were harsh and unforgiving. On Steam, The Day Before now has more than 18,000 reviews skewing “overwhelmingly negative.” It’s now one of the lowest rated Steam games of all time.
Fntastic was suspiciously quiet as negative player response rolled it. After launching The Day Before, the studio posted just twice on X, saying that its North American servers were working but filling too quickly, and that a “huge update, including server and AI fixes” was coming the day after launch. After peaking with a little over 30,000 concurrent players on launch day, The Day Before active player counts dipped to less than 3,000, according to Steam Charts.
Fntastic said it doesn’t know what the future of The Day Before — or its other game on Steam, Propnight — will be, “but the servers will remain operational” for now.
In its announcement on X, Fntastic offered an apology for not delivering on expectations
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