Fntastic denies ‘hoax’ claims, says day before delay was pre-planned after MMO removed from Steam

Day Before, one of Steam’s most coveted open-world survival MMOs, was pulled from Valve’s storefront earlier this week. The game’s disappearance from the store has been attributed to a trademark dispute, which developer Fntastic claims caused Steam to block their game page, leading to yet another launch delay. Now, amid internet chatter questioning whether the game even exists, the developer has come out and said it had planned to delay the game even before the trademark dispute arose. In a statement to IGN, Fntastic also ended speculation that the game was a “hoax.”

“We planned to move the game’s launch before and plan to announce it with [publisher] Mytona in a 10-minute gameplay video,” the developer said IGN. “And then you all know what happened. So, to make sure that there will be no more transfers, we, together with the publisher, have chosen November 10th. It’s a safe date given the trademark dispute.” The twice-delayed game will use the extra time to deliver a polished and “content-filled” experience leading up to launch day. As for the gameplay video, Fntastic intends to consult with its lawyers first before publishing it.

Despite the accusations leveled against them, the developers of The Day Before seem optimistic about the end result – even denying claims that they’re running a scam. “We didn’t take a single 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 verifies the game’s build at every milestone as per our contract,” their statement said.

The day before was removed from Steam earlier this week, and it was revealed that the studio never bothered to claim a trademark for its name before announcing the title in January 2021. According to Fntastic, this allowed a private individual to fill application to them and trademark the name “The Day Before” in the US. In an effort to resolve this issue, the developer has decided to postpone the game’s release to November 10.

“We were previously unaware of the existence of claims,” ​​read an open letter from developer Fntastic and publisher Mytona after the game disappeared from Steam. “We only found out about it on January 19, 2023, when we received a complaint from him and a request to contact him.” The studio had planned to release an “extended gameplay video” later this month – just two months before launch – but decided to postpone that too. Understandably, this confusing situation has raised suspicion on the internet, with the majority of voices suggesting that the game may not have been in development at all. Even the Discord moderators of the Den community before that are doubtful about whether the game is real or not. To their credit, very little is known about The Day Before other than it brilliant announcement trailerfollowed by an orchestrated game footagepromising the ultimate zombie slaying affair.

Although The Day Before was originally expected to be released in 2022, it was then pushed back to March 1st of this year, due to a change in the development engine. According to a statement given to IGN last year, Fntastic said it was switching to Epic Games’ new Unreal Engine 5 technology, which would only “make The Day Before’s gameplay even more fantastic.” This new delay and accusations have prompted Fntastic to open up, insisting that plans to move the release date further were in motion before the trademark issue piled up – pushing the release date back by eight months.

Set in a desolate, post-pandemic US, The Day Before has players survive hordes of flesh-eating zombies by scavenging for resources, crafting equipment and navigating vehicles. Think of it as The Division meets The Last of Us – at least according to the scant knowledge we have of the game. Fntastic previously created the multiplayer hide-and-seek game Propnight, a 4v1 affair in which a killer tracks down survivors in an eerie night.

The Day Before is now scheduled to release on November 10 for PC.