Fntastic, the developer behind The Day Before, has provided a new update about the highly anticipated online survival game. The studio said that the game’s delay was planned even before the copyright issue.

We recently reported that Fntastic announced the delay of The Day Before. The studio announced that the release will be pushed back by eight months and will be coming out in November. Fntastic said that a copyright claim forced the studio to push back the release to sort out the legal matters.

However, IGN reports Fntastic planned to delay the game even before the statement regarding the copyright claim and subsequent Steam takedown was made. The studio said that it planned to announce the delay in a ten-minute gameplay video.

"We planned to move the game's release before and plan to announce it with [publisher] Mytona in a 10-minute gameplay video," Fntastic revealed to IGN. "And then you all know what happened. So to be on the safe side, to ensure there are no more transfers, we, along with the publisher, chose November 10. That is a safe date, given the trademark dispute."

Fntastic is confident that its legal team can sort out the trademark issue. The studio plans to use the extra time to improve the game.

"We’re very confident that this issue will be resolved since we have strong legal partners," the studio said. "The extra time will allow us to better prepare for the release and make the overall improvements for the game. It will become even more polished, optimized, and content-filled."

Gamers are now doubting that the game actually exists but Fntastic maintains that the game will definitely be released.

"The storm will calm down eventually, and time will put everything in its place. When the game comes out, people will finally see the truth," Fntastic said. "But while we're here, we're grateful for such a fantastic journey and for you being with us."

Fntastic announced The Day Before back in 2021 and the game got a huge following on Steam, making it one of the most wishlisted games on the platform. The studio got into some controversy when it was revealed that it was using volunteers to develop the game. Fntastic defended itself by saying that some of its volunteer developers were paid for doing work on the game.

The Day Before has been delayed several times. The first time, the release date was pushed back as the game switched to Unreal Engine 5. The most recent delay resulted in the game being removed from the Steam storefront.

At this point, we wouldn't be surprised if The Day Before, which recently wowed audiences with its RTX trailer, never comes at all.