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In what has to be one of the fastest shutdowns ever for a game and its development studio, Fntastic has announced it will be closing shop, just a few days after its zombied-themed MMO The Day Before launched on Steam.
In a post on its X (formerly Twitter) account, the developer stated in part:
Today, we announce the closure of Fntastic studio. Unfortunately, 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.
We invested all our efforts, resources, and man-hours into the development of The Day Before, which was our first huge game. We really wanted to release new patches to reveal the full potential of the game, but unfortunately, we don’t have the funding to continue the work.
The game was first announced back in 2021, and it got a lot of attention from its debut trailer, which promised a deep survival-style MMO game, with players fighting zombies. The game used versions’ of Epic’s Unreal Engine.
In early 2023, the game’s Steam page was taken down, and Fntastic claims The Day Before was the subject of a trademark lawsuit. In November, the developer claimed that it was back up and running and would launch the game on Steam as an Early Acces title in early December for $39.99.
However, once the game actually launched, it received massive negative reviews from its Steam players. The studio did release a couple of hotfixes before today’s decision but it seems clear that the game was launched in a very broken state.
In its farewell message, Fntastic tried to make excuses over the launch of the game, stating:
We apologize if we didn’t meet your expectations. We did everything within our power, but unfortunately, we miscalculated our capabilities. Creating games is an incredibly challenging endeavor. We’re grateful to everyone who supported us during these difficult years.
The message added that servers for The Day Before and an earlier game from the same studio, Propnight, will continue to operate for the time being.
I will be deeply appreciative of the substantial contributions you have made to my personal and professional growth. I shall be eternally grateful to you. On the contrary, I would not have achieved success in any of these areas without your support.
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Why did The Day Before failing financially despite its promising trailer and ambitious genre?