The Day Before developer Fntastic has said it was planning a delay even before a trademark dispute pushed the game back eight months.
Speaking to IGN, Fntastic co-founders Eduard and Aisen Gotovtsev decried any allegations of scamming after several The Day Before community members grew concerned that the game was delayed for so long just a few weeks ahead of its planned launch date on March 1.
Fntastic released a statement on January 25 (below) claiming that a trademark dispute had forced the delay of both the game and its first major gameplay trailer in over a year.
"We planned to move the game's release before and plan to announce it with [publisher] Mytona in a 10-minute gameplay video," Fntastic told IGN. "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. That is a safe date, given the trademark dispute."
Despite having now been delayed twice (with the first caused by a switch to Unreal Engine 5), Fntastic is still confident it will have its trademark dispute solved by the new release date, and plans to use the extra time for improving the game in the meantime.
"We’re very confident that this issue will be resolved since we have strong legal partners," it said. "The extra time will allow us to better prepare for the release and make the overall improvements for the game. It will become even more polished, optimized, and content-filled."
— Fntastic (@FntasticHQ) January 25, 2023
As for complaints and allegations that The Day Before isn't actually in development - which have been erupting on its Reddit page and Discord sever - Fntastic maintained that its game will definitely be released despite the chaotic conversation at the moment.
"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," it said. "But while we're here, we're grateful for such a fantastic journey and for you being with us."
Fntastic also provided the following statement regarding current conversations and the state of the game: "For us and millions of people, The Day Before is a childhood dream come true. It’s a game with zombies and other people in a huge postapocalyptic skyscraper city.
"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 made a real inner breakthrough when we decided to go for big challenges from the bottom—so big that some people would consider them impossible.
"Making a fantastic journey from the very ends of the earth, we feel like that simple guy from 90s action movies. You probably remember him as the hero who breaks through the veil of disbelief when no one believes in him, but he finds the inner strength to win and prove to everyone what he is worth in the end.
"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."
The Day Before is an open world zombie MMO that was first announced in January 2021. This isn't the first time the game has faced controversy in the past three years, however, as Fntastic was also forced to defend its use of unpaid workers in June last year.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
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