“The Day Before,” a much-debated Steam Early Access game, witnessed a dramatic downturn in popularity, with its player count dropping nearly 90% within four days of its release. Despite attracting half a million viewers on Steam following its early access sale for $40, the game faced severe backlash, landing among Steam’s 10 worst-reviewed products.

The game was developed by studio Fntastic, renowned for its expertise in producing MMO/shooter genres. The firm, however, announced it was shuttering operations in response to the game’s precipitous decline, marking a “financial failure.”

A cascade of criticisms followed the game’s early access release, leading to a significant contraction of its player base. This culminated in accusations that Fntastic had swindled players through a massive bait-and-switch strategy. The studio’s closure then came less than a week later, underlining the stark failure of “The Day Before.”

Fntastic’s closure sends a clear message to the game developers’ community about the risks of early access release, demonstrating the potentially severe consequences of failing to meet player expectations.