What happened to The Day Before? Sudden shutdown explained

Developer Fntastic has closed down just days after the disastrous launch of The Days Before, with cries of the whole thing being a scam thrown around by many online.

Simply put, the game launched after years of a suspicious development journey, was seemingly in no way whatsoever worth the price people paid for it, and now the developer is no more.

What is it exactly that happened to The Day Before? We’re here with an explainer of the situation and a strong recommendation to ask for a refund if you bought it.

What happened to The Day Before? Sudden shutdown explained

The Days Before launched in early access on 7th December 2023, and was shut down by the developer and publisher just four days later, on 11th December.

Those who played the game panned it in just about every department as the dubious nature of its protracted development cycle was revealed to the world – players and critics alike questioning the validity of the release.

Following the launch of the game, its developer Fntastic was unceremoniously shut down, and took to X (formerly Twitter) to reveal its statement:

Just a quick look down the comments and in the quote posts of that statement will tell you what many people thought of the game. DayZ had some fun with it, too.

Mired in controversy since its reveal, many were surprised that a game from a relatively unknown development studio could become the most wishlisted title on Steam.

Accusations of the multiplayer extraction shooter survival horror overpromising and even flipping assets from other titles have been thrown around since its reveal back in 2021 – something the developer has always refuted.

As industry expert Insider Gaming reveals in a damning report, though, there are several indicators that suggest The Day Before may indeed have been a scam.

Accusations have been hurled left, right and centre since day one. Claims of AI-generated scripted "gameplay" videos, unpaid workers, no actual gameplay being shown, delays "without showing anything tangible to prove that the game even existed, constantly farming impressions and building hype and a sense of mystery around the title" (as per the aforementioned Insider Gaming report) and more raised eyebrows.

The final nail in the coffin was the game’s launch. When people finally played the game they paid full price for, they weren’t happy. As Insider Gaming put it, "it looks as though most of The Day Before was built on the back of flipped assets" from other popular games, including The Division and The Last of Us.

Before the game launch, developer Fntastic had defended its process, countering accusations against it.

It previously said on X, formerly Twitter: "We all live in a time of disinformation and lack of fact-checking.

"Anyone can say anything for views, and everyone will believe it. Disinformation needs to be dealt with as it can harm not only us but also other indies and small/medium studios. It also has a mental impact on the members of such teams.

"After the release of The Day before, we'll think about how to help novice developers deal with fakes and allocate resources for this."

It followed that up with a further statement on the week of launch, adding: "Please forgive us for not doing the best marketing and teasers. We learn something new and improve ourselves every single day.

"Please don't accuse us of asset flip; that's not true also. Our team worked day and night for five years to make our dream game a reality."

Now, though, the game’s publisher Mytona and the development studio are claiming that they will offer full refunds on Steam. Mytona took to X to reveal the plan to "work with Steam to open up refunds for any players who choose to make a refund". You can see the full statement below:

Developer Fntastic detailed further on X that it is: "Currently working with Steam to allow refunds for any player who chooses to request one, regardless of game time. Fntastic received $0 and will receive nothing from The Day Before sales."

Whether or not The Day Before was a scam, no matter how likely that may seem, at least people who purchased the game should be able to get a full refund, no matter how long they played it. Get in there quickly and get your money back.

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