The Day Before developer Fntastic has addressed accusations that the game isn't real following a bizarre release date delay that was said to be due to a trademark dispute. Zombie survival MMO The Day Before has attracted a great deal of attention since its initial announcement, but the game hasn't shown much in terms of raw gameplay footage. This has fueled conspiracy theories that The Day Before isn't real, or at least isn't going to deliver on its promises.
More fuel was added to the fire after The Day Before's latest release date delay. Developer Fntastic announced that it was pushing The Day Before from its March release date to November 10. This release date delay and the lack of new gameplay footage was blamed on a trademark dispute over the game's name. According to Fntastic, someone else secured The Day Before trademark before it was able to, and now it's working with its legal team on resolving the situation.
In light of this, The Day Before has been removed from Steam and the community has largely turned against the project. Speaking to IGN, Fntastic addressed the theories that The Day Before isn't actually in development, saying that it is "unpleasant to hear such accusations." Fntastic reiterated its confidence in the game, saying, "We only believe in the final product. No matter what anyone says, you’ll see for yourself on November 10 this year."
Fntastic also addressed the Day Before trademark issue, saying that the release date delay was planned prior to that issue arising. Apparently, the initial plan was to release a 10-minute gameplay video of The Day Before to go along with the release date delay, but the trademark issue threw a wrench in those plans.
The latest gameplay for The Day Before showed off the game's ray-tracing effects as part of Nvidia's GeForce Beyond presentation at CES 2023. The Day Before's affiliation with big-name brands like Nvidia would normally be enough to instill confidence in gamers that the game is indeed legitimate, but the Abandoned situation has proven that even major partners doesn't mean that a product is all that it says it is.
For the uninitiated, Abandoned is supposedly a horror game in development for PlayStation 5, and it was even given the spotlight by PlayStation in an official PlayStation Blog post. Since Abandoned's announcement, though, many have called into question whether the game is real or not, with the developers doing very little to provide evidence to prove that the game is actually in development. Many have started comparing The Day Before's situation with Abandoned, so hopefully fans don't have to wait too much longer for an update that proves the game is truly on the way.
The Day Before is in development PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.
Source: IGN
