Tongues are starting to loosen regarding The Day Before, one of the biggest hoaxes of 2023 in the video game market. A former developer revealed that the lie has always existed, since the project was never an MMO.
“ It was never about an MMO in my opinion. No one on the development team knows why they talked about an MMO. » This is what a former developer of The Day Before in the columns of DualShockers, December 12, 2023. Wishing to remain anonymous, he reveals behind the scenes of the most controversial game of 2023. A huge deception, it was withdrawn from sale after four days and led to the closure of the Fntastic studio, accused of lying.
However, the Steam page of The Day Beforealways accessible, evokes well “ an exceptional journey in a post-apocalyptic open-world survival MMO “. The source corrects: “ It has always been a third-person shooter, with cooperative mechanics. No RPG mechanics were incorporated — we had ideas for adding skills, and they were prototypes, but nothing more. » This reinforces a little more the scandal which tainted The Day Before.
The Day Before was never an MMO, ex-developer says
This communication suggests that nothing was really going right within Fntastic, including The Day Before was the first big project. The former employee evokes complicated, not to say tyrannical, management on the part of the brothers Eduard and Aisen Gotovtsev — founders of the studio. On this subject, he specifies: “ Many good ideas were abandoned because they didn’t approve of them. Like voice chat. Those who complained too much were simply kicked out of the team. Many stupid ideas were added, removed and then added again because the two brothers were convinced that they knew better than us what people expected. A lot of time was wasted because it had to be done and redone. »
He pursues : ” Disagreeing with the founders, even when it was obvious, could lead to the risk of being fired. The majority of big arguments ended at the end of the contract. Employees often preferred to avoid direct conflict for fear of losing their jobs. » We also recall that Fntastic has cultivated a culture of voluntary work, which may be surprising from a company wishing to launch an ambitious project. Another oddity: the company closed very quickly, although The Day Before was in Early Access and could have been saved with time and goodwill.
All these elements taken together tend to demonstrate that The Day Before is a scam. Fortunately, players who fell for it will not be harmed: an exceptional refund campaign is offered on Steam, the studio announced on December 14. It will allow you to recover the €38.99 invested, regardless of the playing time. Normally, you must have played less than two hours to recover your money.
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