Multiplayer survival game from Fntastic, The Day Before, was one of the most wishlisted games on Steam. The developer says it will deliver a zombie shooter unlike any other, but the game has now been delayed twice with no sign of the aforementioned “raw gameplay” footage players have been waiting for. To quell rumours about the game’s legitimacy, Fntastic has released another statement about The Day Before, and it’s one of the most bizarre things we’ve ever read.
After fans were promised The Day Before raw gameplay footage, developer Fntastic delayed The Day before again by nine months, citing that the studio doesn’t actually own the trademark for the game it plans on releasing.
This second delay and its reasoning have seen fans in the game’s Discord and Reddit communities ask if The Day Before is even real, if it will ever release, and what Fntastic is actually doing. In response to these concerns, the studio provided IGN with a statement, which is as follows:
“For us and millions of people, The Day Before is a childhood dream come true. It’s a game with zombies and other people in a huge postapocalyptic skyscraper city. We understand that some players, not seeing the whole picture, might have doubts about the game. Our whole focus has always been on the product itself.
“We’ve been creating the game for four years,” Fantastic adds. “All these years have been full of sweat and blood to make this game, and for many members of our team, it is unpleasant to hear such accusations. We didn’t take a penny from people: no crowdfunding, no pre-orders, no donations. The game is fully funded by Mytona, one of the largest mobile publishers in the world, who checked the game’s build at every milestone per our contract.”
Player concern surrounding The Day Before comes as Fntastic promised “raw gameplay”, which it has now not delivered and delayed along with the game itself. Fntastic also told IGN it already planned to delay the game before the trademark dispute, which would have been revealed in the new promised gameplay. The rest of the statement then takes a bit of a weird turn, as Fntastic compares itself to, well, ‘90s action movie stars… yes, really.
“We feel like that simple guy from ‘90s action movies,” Fantastic says. “You probably remember him as the hero who breaks through the veil of disbelief when no one believes in him, but he finds the inner strength to win and prove to everyone what he is worth in the end.”
It sounds like Fntastic is calling itself the underdog, where no one in the film believes in them despite the audience seeing their promise. The problem is the audience, in this case, has barely seen The Day Before, so the statement feels out of place.
“We only believe in the final product. No matter what anyone says, you’ll see for yourself on November 10 this year. We hope that after the game’s success, we’ll give people faith that in this life, if you persevere toward a dream, it will come true, despite all the obstacles and doubts,” the statement concludes.
It’s also worth noting that while The Day Before was one of Steam’s most wishlisted games, the listing has been removed while the trademark dispute is resolved.
If you’re disappointed – and genuinely confused – about all things A Day Before, take a look at our list of some other upcoming games, or our list of the best zombie games to get you in the mood.
