Steam players left disappointed and confused after game disappears – here’s how to get your money back

The Day Before: A Gaming Mystery Solved

After a year of speculation, one of gaming's most bizarre stories has finally come to a close. The Day Before, a highly anticipated game, has left players feeling disappointed and confused. The game, which was first announced a few years ago, garnered a massive following on Steam thanks to flashy trailers that compared it to big-budget titles like The Division and DayZ. However, as the release date approached, it became clear that The Day Before was not what fans had hoped for.

Unpaid Volunteers and Unrealistic Expectations

The development studio behind The Day Before, Fntastic, is mostly made up of unpaid volunteers from around the world. This raised questions about the studio's ability to produce a high-quality open-world MMO, which is a time-intensive endeavor that typically requires talented developers and thousands of hours of work. Despite these concerns, the game continued to generate hype on Steam.

Trailers vs Reality

As the release date neared, the store page for The Day Before mysteriously disappeared from Steam. Fntastic later claimed it was an error on Steam's end. Gameplay trailers were promised, but the dates came and went without any communication from the studio. Eventually, gameplay footage was released, but it only further confused fans. The video showcased mundane tasks like organizing inventory and bore little resemblance to the action-packed trailers that had initially captivated players.

A Disappointing Release

Finally, after numerous delays, The Day Before was released in Early Access. However, it fell far short of expectations. Instead of an immersive MMO experience, players found themselves playing an extraction shooter with few zombies to attack. The game was riddled with bugs and reused assets, making it virtually unplayable. Unsurprisingly, just four days after launch, the player count dropped by 90% as people rushed to claim refunds for the broken game.

The End of Fntastic

In a familiar pattern, The Day Before was abruptly removed from sale without warning, and Fntastic announced the closure of the studio on Twitter. The statement cited a lack of funding as the reason for shutting down, despite the team's efforts to develop the game. However, there is a silver lining for players. Fntastic has promised that everyone who purchased The Day Before will be eligible for a refund, regardless of playtime.

How to Get a Refund

If you need to request a refund for The Day Before, follow these steps:

1. Log in with the Steam account used to purchase the game.
2. Select "A Purchase" from the suggested help topics.
3. Find The Day Before in the list of purchases.
4. Choose a reason for refunding the product.
5. Submit the form. Valve, the company behind Steam, appears to be refunding anyone who bought the game, regardless of playtime.

Disappointment and Closure

Following the announcement of Fntastic's closure, many players expressed their disappointment on Twitter. The studio's official account responded by acknowledging that mistakes were made and that "s**t happens." It's a reminder that even in the ever-evolving and competitive digital world of gaming, not every venture is a success.

Looking Ahead

If you want to stay up-to-date on the latest gaming releases, be sure to check out the biggest and best games from 2023.