Fntastic founders Eduard and Aisen Gotovtsev have hit back at claims their upcoming open-world survival game The Day Before is a scam, following numerous delays.
The game was originally due for release in June 2023, before being delayed until March 1, 2023 last year. Earlier this week, Fntastic revealed that The Day Before would be delayed by eight months following the studio didn't trademark the game's name. It is set to produce on November 8.
At the same time frame, the studio hasn't shared any new footage of The Day Before since 2023 and a planned gameplay reveal trailer has additionally been pushed back due to the legal dispute.
However the Fntastic founders have denied there's anything fishy about The Day Before's troubled launch.
Speaking to IGN, the Gotovtsevs said: “We've been creating the game for four years. Many years have been full of sweat and blood to make this game, as well as for many members of we, it is unpleasant to listen to such accusations.”
“We didn’t take a penny from people: no crowdfunding, no pre-orders, no donations. The sport is fully funded by Mytona, one of the largest mobile publishers on the planet, who checked the game’s build at every milestone per our contract,” they added.
“We only believe in the final product. No matter what anyone says, you will see on your own on November 10 this season,” continued the statement. “We hope that whenever the game’s success, we'll give people faith that within this life, if you persevere toward a dream, it will become a reality, despite all of the obstacles and doubts.”
In the same interview, the founders claimed these were going to delay the game before the alleged difficulties with the trademark. “We planned to move the game’s release before and planned to announce having a 10-minute gameplay video,” i was told that, prior to the trademark dispute forced them to delay the recording as well.
Last summer, Fntastic was criticised for implementing “unpaid volunteers” despite The Day Before being one of Steam's most wish-listed titles.
The developer then defended its use of unpaid “volunteers”, writing in a website update that: “Fntastic's culture is dependant on the thought of volunteering. Which means that every Fntastic member is a volunteer.”
It continued to explain that although “full-time volunteers” are essentially paid workers, “part-time volunteers” are unpaid developers which are instead given “cool rewards, participation certificates, and free codes” for his or her work.
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