Update: Moments before this article was posted, FNTASTIC (the developer) took to Twitter to explain that, due to a legal dispute, the name The Day Before may not be available to use. The team also issued another delay, pushing the game back to November 10th, 2023. They also explained that the previously promised gameplay trailer will no longer be released.
One of the most highly anticipated games of the year has been suddenly removed from Steam, with the developers providing a reason for its disappearance that doesn’t entirely make sense to some users.
The Day Before is set to launch in just five weeks, but up until now, even an in-game representation of how the title actually runs has yet to be revealed. It has been circulating around the gaming community for years, with developers FNTASTIC having been stoking that fire for just as long, driving up hype for a game that, on the surface, looks absolutely fantastic.
However, following a few sketchy circumstances that have cropped up recently, fans are worried that the rug is about to be pulled out from under them.
Is The Day Before Vaporware?
Could The Day Before be a troubling case of vaporware, that product that is revealed and driven forward in the eyes of fans but never actually launched – or cancelled?
Hours ago, The Day Before was removed from Steam, and any existing links to the game’s page simply redirect users to the store’s landing page. Not only that but reportedly, the developer also removed the main link to the game’s Discord from Steam and threw out a casual ban wave against multiple users on the server.
There are claims circulating on Reddit that FNTASTIC has had to remove the Steam store page owing to a copyright infringement, which has reportedly arisen due to the fact that, quite obviously, The Day Before has copied countless elements from other popular games.
Admittedly, there have been some trouble signs leading up to something like this happening for a while. Last year, FNTASTIC promised to show gameplay if a particular tweet hit 10,000 likes. That happened, and instead of showing the game, the developer simply delayed it. Then, a week or so ago, FNTASTIC swore it would release a gameplay video ‘this month’ – and now the game has been removed from Steam.
By way of an explanation, FNTASTIC tried to reassure fans by suggesting this was a known bug, but users of Steam are adamant that this isn’t a thing:
We are currently experiencing a minor technical difficulty with our game’s visibility on the Steam store page. This is a known bug that has affected multiple titles in the past. Please note that Steam regularly conducts maintenance on Tuesdays and this issue will likely be resolved during that time.
FNTASTIC
At present, all fans can do is sit back and wait for this situation to unravel. Either it’ll be re-added to Steam, the gameplay video will be delivered, and it’ll release on March 1st, or it’ll be revealed as either vaporware or some kind of twisted scam title and it’ll never actually launch.
Let’s see what happens.
For more Insider Gaming news, check out our coverage of the leaked set images from the Fallout TV show.
