New data has revealed that almost half of The Day Before’s buyers refunded the game soon after purchasing it.
The long-awaited release of The Day Before on December 7th turned out to be a complete mess. Despite quickly climbing the charts on Steam with over 30,000 players, the majority faced severe issues trying to actually play the game. To make matters worse, the game didn’t live up to the promised open-world survival MMO experience.
Adding to this, within a mere four days of its release, Fntastic, the studio behind The Day Before, made a shocking announcement: they were shutting down. They attributed this to the game’s financial failure and their “misjudged capabilities,” referring to the fact that about half of the players who purchased the game ended up refunding it.
Leaked data from a conversation with Fntastic’s CEO, Eduard Gotovtsev, revealed that 46 percent of players requested refunds through Steam within a two-hour window. In numbers, out of the 201,000 units that were sold at launch, around 91,700 were subsequently returned for a refund.
Moreover, since its Early Access debut, the game’s sales have dropped to zero, and it has mostly received negative reviews on Steam. On its first day, the game’s player count decreased by 75–80%, and by the next day, it was no longer listed among Steam’s global top sellers.
Overall, the current situation of “The Day Before” and “Fntastic” is being referred to as a big scam in the gaming industry.
While those who managed to secure refunds might have dodged a bullet, those who paid for the disastrous early access are still understandably furious. Thankfully, Steam allows refund requests within a two-week window, provided the game hasn’t been played for more than two hours. Even for those who exceeded this limit, there’s a chance Steam might still honor their refund, according to Mytona, the game’s publisher.
Also, Fntastic has made a new statement that it is working with Steam to provide refunds for everyone, regardless of game time, and that it will not be paid for game sales. Moreover, some players have also reported successful refunds even after spending more than two hours with the disappointing title.
If you’re looking to get a refund, Go to Steam Help, select “Purchases,” select The Day Before, and then, in the “What problem are you having with this product?” area, select the appropriate reason (maybe “Gameplay or technical issue,” in this case) to move forward with your refund request.
Now, although there are still a lot of questions concerning this sudden closure, it is obvious that this is not your typical studio closure. Not only has Fntastic stopped operating, but it also seems to be attempting to remove any traces of its past. The Day Before can no longer be purchased. Almost all of the voice and text channels on the official Discord server and YouTube website are being removed.
We’ll continue to provide updates as more details on this situation are revealed.
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