Just two weeks ago, the long-awaited post-apocalyptic survival game was released The day before landed on Steam with a thud, generating thousands of negative player reviews and thousands more refunds from dissatisfied buyers. Five days later, developer Fntastic announced it was being shut down and removed The day before from Steam.
Now that disastrous release is driving up prices on reseller sites, which is where Steam keys are on the gray market The day before go for over $200.
This is evident from the price tracker GG.dealsnoticed by Kotaku, in which used Steam keys retail for between $215 and $485 (before fees). The GG.deals price tracker shows The day before keys for sale on sites like Kinguin, K4G and Gamivo, markets that traditionally sell games at discounted prices. Although these markets generally receive high ratings from customers on the Trustpilot website, it is not always clear that the keys sold through them were obtained legitimately. (GG.deals even lists the number of “risks” associated with each reseller it tracks.)
Some of those keys could have been obtained fairly through resellers, with owners of additional Steam keys looking to take advantage The day before's unavailability. In fact, some players of The day before have reported receiving free Steam keys from the developers – and even the CEO of Fntastic – by simply emailing the studio requesting a hookup. With nothing left to lose, developers reportedly complied.
Is it worth buying The day before right now, at any cost? It is unclear how long the game's servers will remain online. Fntastic said this in its announcement about the studio's closure The day before's servers will remain “operational” for an undisclosed period of time.
However, players will have a small group of people to play against. According to data from Steam Charts, The day beforeThe peak number of players fluctuates between 45 and 110 people two weeks after release. A handful of streamers are is still broadcasting the game on Twitchfor an audience of dozens.