The Day Before, one of the most controversial and catastrophic games in recent memory, will have its servers shut down in January 2024, just 45 days after the game launched in Early Access.

• Controversial game The Day Before will have servers shut down in January 2024, just 45 days after its troubled launch.

• Developer Fntastic has closed down and the entire project will cease to exist, leaving players unable to purchase or play the game.

• Steam will automatically refund remaining players and Mytona, the investor, has been collaborating with Steam to facilitate refunds for all purchasers.

  • RaincoatsGeorge@lemmy.zipEnglish
    1584·
    11 months ago

    This was a scam from the start. They fucked themselves because their trailer was popular and they promised the world. Their goal was to create a shit early access game with pre-made assets, get lots of buy in when it was released, endure some bad reviews, promise to fix things but then slowly dump support for the game. I’ve watched this exact thing happen probably ten times now.

    What killed them was the hype and popularity. They were called out immediately for what they were doing and got stuck having to now make an actual game or face legal repercussions.

    At the very least these cash grabs are getting spotted early and they’re not getting to sneak by without facing consequences.

    • PrettyLights@lemmy.worldEnglish
      54·
      11 months ago

      Due to the way Steam refunds work I feel this wasn’t their end goal unless they really didn’t think it through at all.

      The theory i subscribe to is that they intended to release a “decent” game but had no experience or intent to make it themselves. The marketing hype machine was to build community hype, which would drive investor funding so they could pay for new talent or to just outsource most of the work. I’m guessing that either didn’t materialize or they mismanaged that plan.

      • thoughtorgan@lemmy.worldEnglish
        31·
        11 months ago

        I don’t think they intended to release anything ever. But there was so much attention an them they had to release something.

        They got funding from a Kickstarter right?

        • PrettyLights@lemmy.worldEnglish
          6·
          11 months ago

          Nope, no Kickstarter or obvious public funding before the early access “release”.

          There’s a chance some people weren’t able to get refunded but due to Steam’s refund policy I suspect most got their money back.

          If it was always intended to be a total scam and never release they’d likely have used their own launcher to bypass the Steam revenue share and refund policy.

      • LinyosT@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        1·
        11 months ago

        They’ve got a history of releasing games and abandoning them.

        So I believe this was an attempt at doing the same thing just that TDB ended up getting far more attention than their previous game.

    • WashedOver@lemmy.caEnglish
      5·
      11 months ago

      I get the impression there is a lot of this bait and switch in the mobile gaming circuit with great game play shown on IG ads but the actual gameplay is nothing like advertised?

  • Lunch@lemmy.worldEnglish
    181·
    11 months ago

    Refund the game while you still can, if you were silly enough to buy it… Don’t let these scammers get away with such nonsense.

      • GoosLife@lemmy.worldEnglish
        10·
        11 months ago

        Steams most wishlisted game that had an intricate story of weird events and eventually suffered an early demise after a chaotic release? You bet.

        • EuroNutellaMan@lemmy.worldEnglish
          3·
          11 months ago

          How is it even most wishlists if not by using bots tho like I get I don’t pay attention to what’s new much but I literally never heard of the game until I heard of the flop

    • DarkGamer@kbin.social
      92·
      11 months ago

      I’m guessing streamers who want to make a video about the terribleness for views are the ones willing to pay so much for this game.

  • B0NK3RS@lemmy.worldEnglish
    141·
    11 months ago

    Nobody should be surprised and everyone who bought this shit should honestly be thankful they are getting their money back.

  • blazera@kbin.social
    9·
    11 months ago

    Howd this game get so much attention in the first place? Theres so many fraudulent mobile games flooding app stores every single day.

    • Lanusensei87@lemmy.worldEnglish
      72·
      11 months ago

      Well, for one, they probably used bots to garner the “Most Wishlisted Game on Steam” accolade, they also used shill accounts to counter negative reviews and press.

  • Kecessa@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    6·
    11 months ago

    In a way it’s great that people get their money back, in another way maybe people would learn to not believe the hype if they didn’t…

  • KISSmyOS@lemmy.worldEnglish
    96·
    11 months ago

    Steam will automatically refund remaining players

    Wait, so those players get to enjoy over 1000 hours of playtime and then get all their money back???
    Sweet deal!