Earlier this week, The Day Before launched its early access lauch to near universally negative reviews, quickly landing itself a spot among Steam's 10 worst reviewed games list. Now, just after announcing its closure a few hours ago, studio FNTASTIC has removed the purchase button on the game's Steam page and is now seemingly wiping its presence from the internet.
According to the game's Steam page, The Day Before is no longer available for purchase, marking the end of its short-lived four days in early access. The game's SteamDB page also shows changes to the game's listed developer from FNTASTIC to Mytona Fntastic and back, possibly showing an internal struggle after the studio announced its closure.
Alongside the game's delisting, FNTASTIC is now seemingly removing its presence from the internet entirely. Journalist Nick Calandra compiled a thread showing off the studio's essential disappearance, revealing that its website, YouTube channel, and even Medium account were shut down. CEO Eduard Gotovtsev also deleted his accounts on X/Twitter and LinkedIn.
If you needed any more indication The Day Before is a scam, the CEO of FNTASTIC has nuked himself from Twitter. pic.twitter.com/oosad3bwUe
— Nick Calandra (@nickjcal) December 11, 2023
Calandra noted that the website's closure leaves players, who were promised updates to the game and paid $39, without a way to contact the studio at all. The game is still facing bugs and server issues along with complaints of false promises — players were quick to notice that the game is not an open-world MMO despite its advertising.
FNTASTIC's departure from Steam and social media is just the latest development in a saga that's been unfolding since long before the game's controversy-filled early access launch. Before its release, players grew skeptical after delays (even after the studio promised no more delays), a trademark dispute, and the studio's open use of unpaid workers.
Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN who loves all things indie and Nintendo. Outside of IGN, they've contributed to sites like Polygon and Rock Paper Shotgun. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.
