The developers behind the disastrous survival MMO of 2023 The day before wants a second chance. More than nine months after studio Fntastic announced its closure The day beforeThe spectacular flameout, former members of this development team announced Fntastic 2.0what they call a “recovery plan” for the troubled company.
Fntastic 2.0 will focus on honesty, transparency and professionalism. according to a PDF of the company plan. “From now on, our development and marketing will be based on the principle of honesty,” the developers’ document says. “We understand the errors and lack of previous 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 approach – some of which involved unpaid volunteers The day before‘s evolution – into “one firmly rooted in professionalism,” although what exactly that means is unclear. The people behind Fntastic 2.0 use non-specific language, saying that they will “bring together industry professionals and specialists,” “enhance the skills of our existing workforce,” and “continuously improve all standards and practices.”
Accordingly an FAQ published by Fntasticthe team has “gotten smaller, but it’s still made up of the same people who developed all of our previous games.”
The developer launched parallel to the announcement of Fntastic 2.0 a Kickstarter campaign to fund a new game at the studio. The game, Escape factoryis designed as a physics-based multiplayer co-op escape game in which players make their way through dangerous factories. Escape factory seems to be inspired by multiplayer games Autumn guys And Party animalsfeaturing a group of cute factory workers trying to survive a series of deadly traps. A demo is available on Steam.
Escape factoryThe Kickstarter campaign appears to be headed for failure. The developer only raised $2,348 in the first week to reach its goal of $15,539. The campaign runs for 23 days. Fntastic says that if Escape factory‘s Kickstarter campaign is unsuccessful, “we won’t be able to return” and the game won’t be released. Developers said on Discord that they were also trolled by Kickstarter users, with a large contribution being promised and then withdrawn.
While the people behind Fntastic’s return attempt say they are committed to transparency and open communication, the general tenor of the discussion among potential players is To Escape factory‘s Kickstarter page and on Fntastic’s official Discord server is pessimistic and accusatory. Many are saying Fntastic’s latest project and its attempt to return are all scams, a common refrain in discussions about it The day before.
Polygon has attempted to contact Fntastic founders Eduard and Aisen Gotovtsev via their official and personal email addresses, but have not received a response to multiple emails and Discord messages. We have also contacted other people listed as developers on the Fntastic Discord and have not received a response.
Fntastic rose to fame in 2021 when it was first revealed The day before. The “open-world multiplayer survival game,” set in a “vast, breathtakingly detailed post-apocalyptic world,” wowed viewers with its graphics and gameplay footage ahead of release. But after experiencing several delays and building a huge following, The day before landed with a bang, suffered from shallow gameplay and major technical issues at launch. The day before was canceled a few weeks after its debut and Fntastic fell out with its publisher Mytona and lost the rights to it The day before and a previously released prop hunt style game, Propnight.
Whether the return of Fntastic depends on it Escape factorySince the Kickstarter campaign was successfully funded, it is 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 Propnightbut his “2.0” plans so far don’t bode well for a revival of Fntastic.
