The Day Before Developer Shed More Light on Game’s Development
The tumultuous situation surrounding the closure of developer Fntastic and its game The Day Before continues to unfold with new revelations about the game’s development process.
In an interview with DualShockers, a former employee of Fntastic provided insight into the development of The Day Before, revealing that the game was never intended to be an MMO despite its marketing claims. The anonymous source stated that the game was actually meant to be inspired by a mix of Rust, DayZ, and Escape from Tarkov, with a focus on third-person shooter mechanics and some co-op gameplay. The source also highlighted a lack of communication between the wider team and Fntastic’s founders, Eduard and Aisen Gotovtsev, who reportedly made all gameplay and design decisions, often disregarding the input of the development team.
Furthermore, the interview revealed that the studio made S$3.4m in revenue last year, with roughly S$840k remaining after taxes and various expenses. Both of the founders were paid a total of S$200k, and significant funds were allocated to travel expenses. However, it was also noted that no Singapore-based employees were paid for.
The office space used by Fntastic was identified as a co-op working space in Balestier, which was primarily utilized as a virtual office space. It was also reported that the studio did not receive grants for its projects in Singapore.
In light of the controversy surrounding The Day Before, publisher Mytona recently apologized for the game and stated that they will work with Steam to facilitate refunds for dissatisfied players.
In response to the game’s underwhelming reception, our own Ed played The Day Before and shared his disappointing experience, describing the game as “incredibly basic” and failing to live up to the expectations set by Fntastic.
The former developer also confirmed that approximately 200k copies of The Day Before were sold, with around 90k refunded to date.
As the story continues to unfold, questions remain surrounding the true nature of The Day Before’s development and the circumstances that led to Fntastic’s sudden closure. For more updates and developments on this evolving story, stay tuned to our coverage.