The developers behind the disastrous 2023 survival MMO The day before I want a second chance. More than nine months after the Fntastic studio announced its closure following The day beforeAfter the spectacular failure, former members of that development team announced Fntastic 2.0, which they describe as “a turnaround plan” for the beleaguered company.
Fntastic 2.0 will focus on honesty, transparency and professionalism, according to a PDF of the company's plan. “From now on, our development and marketing will be based on the principle of honesty,” the developers said in the document. “We understand the errors and lack of past communications. We are committed to ensuring transparency in development and openly providing honest and complete information.”
The study also pledges to move away from a volunteer-driven approach: unpaid volunteers were behind some of The day before– to “one firmly rooted in professionalism”, although it is unclear exactly what this means. The people behind Fntastic 2.0 use non-specific language, saying they will “bring together industry professionals and specialists,” “upskill our existing employees,” and “continuously raise all standards and practices.”
According to an FAQ posted by Fntastic, the team has become “smaller, but is still made up of the same people who created all of our previous games.”
In addition to the Fntastic 2.0 announcement, the developer launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund a new game at the studio. the game, factory escapeis presented as a physics-based multiplayer cooperative escape game in which players make their way through dangerous factories. factory escape seems to be inspired by multiplayer games like Fall Guys and party animalsfeaturing a cast of friendly factory workers trying to survive a series of deadly traps. A demo is available on Steam.
factory escapeThe Kickstarter campaign seems to be headed for failure. The developer has raised just $2,348 toward its goal of $15,539 in its first week. The campaign has 23 days left. Fntastic says yes factory escapeThe Kickstarter campaign is unsuccessful, “we won't be able to go back” and the game will not be released. The developers said on Discord that they have also been trolled by Kickstarter users, with a large contribution promised and then withdrawn.
While the people behind Fntastic's attempted comeback say they are committed to transparency and open communication, the overall tone of the discussion among potential players on factory escapeThe Kickstarter page and on the official Fntastic Discord server are pessimistic and accusatory. Many say that Fntastic's latest project and its attempt to comeback are 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 received no response to multiple emails and Discord messages. We've also reached out to other people listed as developers on the Fntastic Discord and have not heard back.
Fntastic rose to fame in 2021 when it was first revealed The day before. The “open-world multiplayer survival game” set in a “huge, incredibly detailed post-apocalyptic world” wowed viewers with its pre-release visuals and gameplay footage. But after experiencing multiple delays and amassing a huge fan base, The day before landed with a thud, suffering 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 to The day before and a previously released accessory hunt style game, support night.
If Fntastic's return depends on factory escapeFollowing the successful funding of the Kickstarter campaign, 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 support nightbut their “2.0” plans, so far, do not bode well for a Fntastic resurgence.