Yesterday, The Day Before went from arriving March 31 to November 10, 2023. A delayed game is hardly out of the ordinary these days, but developer Fntastic's excuse seemed a little fishy. Apparently, someone else trademarked the game's name and initiated a dispute on Steam, which led to The Day Before being delisted. Fntastic said it needed to sort this issue out before it could release the game.
However, fans noted that Fntastic had removed the trailer and screenshots even prior to the alleged trademark dispute. On top of that, the game's mod team stepped forward to say they'd never actually seen the game in action, leading some to believe that the game might not even exist.
Speaking to IGN, Fntastic co-founders Eduard and Aisen Gotovtsev wanted to set the record straight. They told the publication that the game definitely exists and that even without the trademark dispute they'd planned to delay the game anyway.
"We planned to move the game's release before and plan to announce it with [publisher] Mytona in a 10-minute gameplay video," the Gotovstev brothers said. "And then you all know what happened. So to be on the safe side, to ensure there are no more transfers, we, along with the publisher, chose November 10."
Addressing concerns that The Day Before doesn't actually exist, Fntastic said, "The storm will calm down eventually, and time will put everything in its place. When the game comes out, people will finally see the truth.
"We understand that some players, not seeing the whole picture, might have doubts about the game. Our whole focus has always been on the product itself. We’ve been creating the game for four years. All these years have been full of sweat and blood to make this game, and for many members of our team, it is unpleasant to hear such accusations.
"We didn't take a penny from people: no crowdfunding, no pre-orders, no donations. The game is fully funded by Mytona, one of the largest mobile publishers in the world, who checked the game's build at every milestone per our contract.
"We only believe in the final product. No matter what anyone says, you’ll see for yourself on November 10 this year. We hope that after the game's success, we’ll give people faith that in this life, if you persevere toward a dream, it will come true, despite all the obstacles and doubts."
As Fntastic says, we’ll see one way or another by November.