The developers behind 2023’s disastrous survival MMO The day before wants a second chance. More than nine months after studio Fntastic announced it was closing in the wake of The day before‘s spectacular flame-out, former members of that development team has announced Fntastic 2.0which they describe as “a recovery plan” for the beleaguered company.
Fntastic 2.0 will focus on honesty, transparency and professionalism, according to a PDF of the business plan. “From now on, our development and marketing will be based on the principle of fairness,” the developers said in the document. “We understand the errors and lack of prior communication. We are committed to ensuring transparency in development and openly providing honest and comprehensive information.”
The studio also promises to move away from a volunteer-driven approach; unpaid volunteers were behind some of these The day before‘s development – towards ‘a company firmly rooted in professionalism’, although it is unclear what exactly this means. The people behind Fntastic 2.0 use non-specific language, saying they will “gather industry professionals and specialists,” “enhance the skills of our existing employees,” and “continually raise all standards and practices.”
According to a FAQ published by Fntasticthe team has “got smaller, but it still consists of the same people who made all our previous games.”
Alongside the announcement of Fntastic 2.0, the developer launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund a new game at the studio. The game, Escape Factoryis presented as a physics-based multiplayer co-op escape game where players fight their way through dangerous factories. Escape Factory seems to be inspired by multiplayer games like Fall guys And Party animalsfeaturing a cast of adorable factory workers trying to survive a series of deadly traps. There is a demo available on Steam.
Escape FactoryIt looks like the company’s Kickstarter campaign is on its way to failure. The developer raised just $2,348 toward its $15,539 goal in its first week. The campaign still has 23 days to go. Fntastic says that if Escape Factory‘s Kickstarter campaign failed, “we cannot return”, and the game will not be released. Developers said on Discord that they have also been cheated by Kickstarter users, with one large contribution pledged and then withdrawn.
While the people behind Fntastic’s attempted return say they are committed to transparency and open communication, the general tenor of the discussion from potential players is on Escape Factory‘s Kickstarter page and on Fntastic’s official Discord server he is pessimistic and accusatory. Many say Fntastic’s latest project and attempt to return are all a scam, a common refrain in discussions about The day before.
Polygon attempted to contact Fntastic founders Eduard and Aisen Gotovtsev, via their official and personal email addresses, but has not received a response to multiple emails and Discord messages. We also reached out to others listed as developers on the Fntastic Discord and received no response.
Fntastic rose to fame in 2021 when it was first revealed The day before. The “open-world multiplayer survival game” set in a “huge, stunningly detailed post-apocalyptic world” impressed viewers with its visuals and pre-release gameplay footage. But after experiencing multiple delays and building a huge fan base, The day before landed with a thud and suffered from shallow gameplay and major technical issues at launch. The day before was shut down within weeks of its debut and Fntastic fell out with its publisher, Mytona, losing the rights The day before and a previously released prop-hunt style game, Gag night.
If Fntastic’s return depends on it Escape FactoryNow that the Kickstarter campaign has been successfully funded, it seems unlikely that the company will get a second chance. The developer says it has “many exciting plans for future games,” including a new version of Gag nightbut the “2.0” plans so far do not bode well for a Fntastic revival.