How many times will gamers believe that a bad game will be good when it comes out before they stop throwing money at the proverbial wall so willingly?
This year alone, we’ve seen several games come out in either an unpolished or unfinished state or with bad gameplay. Case in point, Skull Island: Rise of Kong, and The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, both are, sadly, just two of the handful of mind-numbingly awful games to come out this year.
To make matters worse, arguably the worst of them all couldn’t wait for the end of the year to make headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Despite the initial hype and becoming one of the most wishlisted games on Steam, The Day Before launched to heavy criticism, leading to the financial ruin and subsequent shutdown of its developers, but no one’s buying their excuse.
The initial announcement made waves immediately, especially considering Fntastic’s ambition to deliver a zombie MMO on a massive scale. The developers explained that they’d invested heavily in the game, pouring resources into what they hoped would be a successful launch. However, upon its release, players quickly discovered that the game wasn’t what they were expecting – it wasn’t even an MMO and the developers tried to hide the evidence of their earlier promise – as the gameplay failed to live up to the pre-launch excitement. This led to a significant drop in player count and placed the game among the worst-reviewed titles on Steam.
Those who followed The Day Before’s development saw this coming. While hyped, controversies plagued the game before its release. The development process was marked by multiple delays, accusations of copying other games, and a trademark dispute. Not to mention, there were concerns about the studio’s use of unpaid workers, which, according to Fntastic, was part of their values centered on volunteering.
Financially, the situation became dire when the sales could no longer cover the debts owed to its partners. Despite not taking any public funding during development, the revenue generated from the game’s early access sales, priced at $39, was insufficient. This financial struggle was compounded by players’ calls for refunds, adding to the studio’s financial woes.
As a result of the closure, the future of The Day Before and another Fntastic release, Propnight, remains uncertain. The sudden delisting from Steam further complicates the situation, with neither Fntastic nor Valve providing information.
Fntastic’s closure reflects the harsh realities of game development, where high expectations and industry pressures can lead to significant financial risks. The studio’s statement acknowledged their shortcomings: “We apologize if we didn’t meet your expectations. We did everything within our power, but unfortunately, we miscalculated our capabilities.”
Some believe this was Fntastic’s plan all along. By misleading audiences, The Day Before is effectively a scam. Naturally, earlier supporters feel betrayed, accusing the studio of running away with the money.
It’s somewhat ironic that we saw several award-winning hits like Alan Wake 2, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and Baldur’s Gate 3, among several others, this year, only for games like The Day Before to hit the storeshelves as well. We can only hope that audiences can learn from this experience and be more skeptical about supporting unproven studios.
