This year’s most infamous video game, The Day Before , will see a timely and expected end on January 22nd, 2024.
12.12.2023 - 12:29 / ign.com
Following the disastrous launch of The Day Before, its developer has said it is working with Steam to make refunds available to all, and insisted it will receive no money from sales of the game.
The Day Before was once Steam’s most-wishlisted game, but following its early access launch last week it was met with a backlash for failing to deliver a game even close to what was promised. IGN’s The Day Before review returned a rare 1/10. We said: “The Day Before is easily one of the worst games I’ve ever played, to the point where I’m afraid to continue running it on my PC – and if you didn’t manage to try it, you can count yourself as one of the lucky ones.”
With player numbers in free-fall and an ‘overwhelmingly negative’ user review rating on Steam, The Day Before developer Fntastic made the shock announcement that it was closing down. Soon after, Fntastic removed the purchase button on the game's Steam page and wiped its presence from the internet. All this just four days after The Day Before launched in early access.
Customers have labelled The Day Before a “scam” and demanded refunds. In a statement issued to IGN, a Fntastic spokesperson confirmed that the developer and its publisher, Mytona, are working with Steam to open up refunds to any player who wants one, regardless of game time. Steam’s refund policy limits refunds to those requested within 14 days of purchase and with less than two hours of game time, but it seems the situation with The Day Before has required drastic action. IGN has asked Valve for comment.
Meanwhile, Fntastic has issued statements on its X/Twitter account, what looks like the last remaining platform from which the developer can comment publicly. In its latest tweet, Fntastic confirmed it is working on refunds, and insisted it will receive no money from sales of the game.
“Answer to those who ask for a refund. Mytona and we're 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.”
As you’d expect, there is a great deal of anger at Fntastic over The Day Before, and this latest tweet sparked renewed criticism about how the developer handled the game’s marketing in the run up to the much-delayed launch.
“Unbelievable that you guys hyped this game up so much and this is the end result,” said one X/Twitter user. “You guys are an absolute disgrace to the video game industry.”
Fntastic replied to this tweet with another comment that has only fuelled the anger surrounding the developer:
“This was our first big experience. Shit happens.”
“Shit happens? You blatantly misled people with your ‘gameplay’ trailers that were completely fake and didn’t represent the
This year’s most infamous video game, The Day Before , will see a timely and expected end on January 22nd, 2024.
Update — Publisher Mytona has posted an update on The Day Before situation, pledging to work with Steam to open up refunds to any players who choose to do so.
The Day Before's rise to infamy has been swift. Promised for an eventual PS5 release, it was released last week into Steams Early Access in an atrocious state, and players were quick to note it only vaguely resembled the product promised. The developer announced its dissolution days later, effective immediately, before the studio's owners, brothers named Gotovtsev, dropped a digital smoke bomb and disappeared entirely.
After seeing a few of The Day Before’s gameplay trailers, one indie dev decided to make a ‘parody’ trailer of their own to see how quickly they could whip up a video that captured a similar degree of promise. But when that project began, they couldn't have known what would eventually happen to The Day Before, and how much it would fail to live up to that promise.
The creator of troubled Early Access title The Day Before, Fntastic, is closing its doors.
Update, 12/12/23:
If you haven’t been keeping up with all the juicy drama surrounding The Day Before, an absolute disaster of an early access zombie survival game, then here’s a quick run down.
After The Day Before's developer closed its doors for good, its publisher is now offering refunds for the canceled game.
Editor’s Note: Faster than we could publish our early access review, the developer announced it was shutting down and The Day Before was removed from sale . The servers remain up for those who have bought it and not yet refunded, but since our reviewer went to the trouble of playing it, it seems only right that you should get to read what he thought of the experience while it lasted.
Update: Valve has seemingly made the move to delist The Day Before from Steam. While the game's Steam page is still up, you can no longer purchase the game. Those who purchased the game are reporting being able to receive refunds, even well beyond the usual 2-hour limit.
Fntastic, the developer behind controversial Steam Early Access launch The Day Before, has shut down with immediate effect.
Update: The Day Before is no longer available to purchase on Steam. It's currently unclear whether it was delisted by developer Fntastic or by Valve itself. We've reached out to Valve for further information and will provide additional updates as we learn more.