The Day Before, currently the most wishlisted game on Steam, is getting delayed by eight months. Instead of the originally scheduled date of June 21 - mere weeks from today - the game is now expected to arrive March 1, 2023.
As reported by IGN, the developers at Fntastic released a statement announcing the new launch date for the open-world survival MMO title. The team knows that millions of players are eagerly awaiting The Day Before, noting that the team is “feeling and understanding the great responsibility”.
Fntastic revealed that the reason behind the delay is that the developers have decided to switch to Unreal Engine 5 to “make the gameplay of The Day Before even more fantastic.” The transition to a more advanced engine will take some work, which is what's caused the nearly-year-long delay to March.
The full statement reads, "Millions of people have added The Day Before to their wishlist, making The Day Before one of the most anticipated games in the world. Feeling and understanding the great responsibility that we face, with enormous gratitude in our hearts, we're pleased to announce that The Day Before is switching to the new Unreal Engine 5 technology! The transition to a more advanced and adapted open worlds engine, will make the gameplay of The Day Before even more fantastic. In this regard, we inform you that the new release date of the game will be March 1st, 2023"
While the news might be a bitter pill to swallow for those looking forward to the game, the graphical upgrade might be well worth it, given how impressive Unreal Engine 5 looks in The Matrix Awakens demo. The Day Before will offer a vast open-world environment for players to explore freely, including not only abandoned New York City streets but the countryside too. The project already looks more than spectacular in the previous footage, so an engine upgrade can only help it look even better in the end.