Valve Discontinues Sales of "The Day Before" with Developer Fntastic Shuttering Operations

In a surprising move, Valve has chosen to remove "The Day Before" from Steam's purchase options. Although the game's page remains, the ability to buy it has been revoked. Players who have already bought the game reported that they are eligible for refunds that surpass Steam's usual 2-hour gameplay refund window.

The game "The Day Before," first unveiled in 2021, sparked interest as a promising large-scale open-world looter-shooter with zombies, drawing comparisons to The Division. It gained a considerable wishlist following on Steam, spurred by its initial polished "gameplay" footage. Yet, the game's release was obstructed by delays, with developer Fntastic sometimes citing peculiar reasons for the postponements. Upon its eventual release last week, the game faced a barrage of criticism from players, who quickly realized it was not the anticipated MMO, but rather a lesser-quality extraction shooter.

Just four days post-launch, Fntastic communicated the unfortunate news that they would be ceasing operations. There will be no future initiatives to enhance The Day Before, and while the game's destiny remains uncertain, the prognosis seems grim. The servers, however, are expected to continue running for some time.

Through a heartfelt statement, Fntastic disclosed the studio's shutdown, expressing the regret that The Day Before did not achieve the desired financial success and that the resources had dwindled to a point where continuing development was no longer feasible. Emphasizing the investment of extensive effort and energy over half a decade into the title, which was the studio's inaugural major project, the team had hoped to launch updates that would fully realize the game's potential. Yet, the financial underpinning was insufficient.

Fntastic also made it clear that no public funding was involved; the project was not financed through pre-orders or crowdfunding. Acknowledging the shortfall to deliver as anticipated, the studio extended its apologies to those whose expectations were not met, emphasizing the inherently challenging nature of game development. They expressed gratitude for their support over their arduous journey.

While "The Day Before" remains available on PC for the moment, the involvement of the curious is tinged with the knowledge of the developer's closure.