At this point, it’s really hard to say what’s actually going on with The Day Before. The mysterious zombie survival shooter project has seen its fair share of controversy in recent weeks. Now, the game’s developers have taken to Twitter once more to share a somewhat unusual statement regarding apparent “disinformation.”
It can only be assumed this update is in relation to widespread speculation about the game itself, which recently shared a first look at some gameplay after prolonged secrecy around the project. The clip came after an announcement from Fntastic that The Day Before would in fact not be released on March 1 as intended but instead would be pushed back to November 10.
This announcement came not long after the reveal that Fntastic doesn’t actually own the copyright to the name The Day Before, which is actually registered to another individual. That copyright dispute was apparently the reason that the game’s release has had to be delayed once more and as a result, there’s been widespread criticism and indeed concern as to whether or not The Day Before is actually even a real game. To combat this, Fntastic has tried to come out swinging, first releasing an odd statement to try and reassure players, and then by sharing 10 minutes of gameplay footage, which received a somewhat mixed reception from the community.
There’s clearly a lot to unpack here, but Fntastic’s latest tweet has served only to create further confusion and intrigue around the title. The latest statement remarks that “we all live in a time of disinformation and lack of fact-checking,” before continuing to hold forth about the impact of this alleged practice.
“Anyone can say anything for views, and everyone will believe it,” the statement reads. “Disinformation needs to be dealt with as it can harm not only us but also other indies and small/medium studios. It also has a mental impact on the members of such teams. After the release of The Day Before, we’ll think about how to help novice developers deal with fakes and allocate resources for this. Destroying is easy. Creating is difficult.”
Whether or not this latest statement will help reassure fans about the status of The Day Before remains to be seen, although some users have replied to the tweet suggesting that better transparency and improved communication with the game’s fanbase may have helped the developers to avoid the current situation. It’s all very mysterious, as the entire development and marketing process of the game seems to have been so far, and it certainly looks as though Fntastic’s efforts at damage control are being met with mixed feelings. Either way, gamers are going to have to wait until nearer the end of the year to actually play The Day Before, provided that Fntastic can settle the copyright issues surrounding the game’s name.
The Day Before is expected to be released on November 10. It’ll be available on PC via Steam, with a console version for PS5 and Xbox Series S/X expected to launch sometime later.