Fntastic has officially closed its doors after the release of their game, The Day Before, and the game’s servers are scheduled to be shut down on January 22, 2024. The studio had initially stated that the servers would continue to operate, but the game’s future became uncertain. Now, with the announcement of the studio’s closure, it’s clear that The Day Before will no longer be available for play.

Despite the emphasis on online play, The Day Before could still be played offline. However, the game was removed from the Steam storefront just five days after its launch on December 12 and has not been available for purchase since. Fntastic has officially announced that the game will be “retired.”

Fntastic’s Full Statement on Server Closure:

“Dear community, we regret to inform you the development company Fntastic has officially ceased operations, and as a result, The Day Before will be retired and the servers will be turned off on [January 22, 2024]. As previously communicated, Mytona, as the investor, has been working in collaboration with Steam to facilitate refunds for all game purchases. For any players that have not already had their purchase refunded, Steam will now proactively refund all remaining players.
We extend our gratitude for the community’s support throughout the project’s life. Unfortunately, without a development team, we had no alternative choice but to officially close the project. We sincerely thank all our supporters throughout this journey and wish you all a happy holiday season.”

The Day Before was launched into Early Access on December 7 and initially saw a peak of 38,104 concurrent users on Steam. However, this number has since dwindled to only 55 players, according to SteamDB. Furthermore, the game received enough negative reviews to rank it among the 10 worst-reviewed games on Steam in just four days.

Throughout its existence, The Day Before has faced various controversies, including issues with volunteer work, multiple delays, broken promises, and more. Fntastic has even gone as far as to delete its entire YouTube channel, leaving behind a note expressing gratitude to its supporters over the years.

[Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Fntastic’s statement said, “Steam will not proactively refund all remaining players.” The statement says, “Steam will now proactively refund all remaining players” and the story has been updated to reflect that. Game Informer regrets this mistake.]

Have you played The Day Before? Let us know what you thought of it in the comments below!