This summary of the video was created by an AI. It might contain some inaccuracies.
00:00:00 – 00:40:49
The video delves into the evolving landscape of zombie culture in gaming, centered around "The Day Before," developed by Fantastic. Initially, zombie narrative games, like 2012's "DayZ," revolutionized the genre, fostering a series of similar games, though many were subpar. "The Day Before" revitalized interest, becoming Steam's most wishlisted game. However, Fantastic's silence, repeated delays, trademark issues, and controversial volunteer labor practices stirred skepticism. The company’s troubled history and mismanagement were further exposed, with previous projects abandoned and a lack of substantial game footage raising red flags.
By 2023, Fantastic struggled with legal complications, numerous delays, and accusations of plagiarism. The anticipated launch saw the game fall drastically short of expectations, misleadingly marketed as an MMO but lacking key features and plagued by technical flaws. Initial sales quickly plummeted as players encountered severe bugs and unmet promises, revealing the game was built using cheap asset packs. Post-launch chaos included the studio's abrupt shutdown, mass refunds, and turmoil within the game's community and Discord.
Investigations uncovered the studio's dubious operations, mismanagement, and harsh working conditions. The catastrophic development cycle, marked by unrealistic demands and frequent content overhauls, culminated in a failed launch and the game's closure. The disarray continued as the studio's founders vanished, allegedly pursuing a new mobile game venture, leaving the community disillusioned and the subreddit in disarray.
00:00:00
In this part of the video, the narrator discusses the evolution of zombie culture in pop media, noting that computer games became a key platform for zombie narratives. A significant shift happened in 2012 with the release of the DayZ mod, which introduced an open-world sandbox multiplayer zombie survival game concept. This involved up to 60 players starting with minimal resources and needing to hunt, loot, craft, and survive against both zombies and other players. DayZ’s success spawned a surge of similar games, many of which were poorly made and released without sufficient development (often in Early Access), causing widespread disappointment and skepticism among gamers. However, a turning point is described in 2023 with the release of a highly anticipated game, “The Day Before,” which aimed to rejuvenate and fulfill the potential of the genre, gaining significant interest and quickly becoming Steam’s most wishlisted game.
00:05:00
In this part of the video, the early success and subsequent silence of the game “The Day Before” by Fantastic are discussed. The game created a strong buzz with high-quality trailers and gameplay showcases, amassing millions of views. After initial excitement, the developers went silent for months, causing concerns among the fans. The September return included another trailer and the announcement of a June 2022 release date. However, doubts resurfaced as they later revealed a switch to Unreal Engine 5, postponing the release to March 2023. Additionally, controversy arose over Fantastic’s use of volunteer labor, which they defended by stating both paid and unpaid staff are considered volunteers due to their proactive nature.
00:10:00
In this part of the video, the focus is on the company and its troubled history. It starts with a discussion on the volunteer culture promoted by the company, where volunteers are compensated with participation certificates and other rewards. The company’s origins trace back to 2016 in Yakutsk, Russia, with their first game “Wild 8,” a crowdfunded indie survival game. Despite initial success, internal conflicts led to the game being abandoned. Subsequent projects like “Dead Dozen” and “Radiant One” faced significant issues, with some being delisted or barely supported post-launch. The only exception was “Propnight,” which saw post-launch support but still had criticism.
The company’s small size and history of abandoning projects raised concerns about their capability to handle an ambitious MMO project. Further investigation into the publisher revealed a portfolio of unrelated casual games, adding to the skepticism. Despite partnering with Nvidia and Lenovo, which they showcased in promotional content, the company did not provide substantial gameplay footage for their upcoming game, frustrating fans.
As the game’s launch was just weeks away, the lack of transparency and actual gameplay footage led to rising concerns. Matters worsened when the game mysteriously disappeared from Steam, and some of the company’s YouTube content was taken down, leading fans to fear the project was being abandoned.
00:15:00
In this part of the video, the speaker discusses a series of events related to a game’s tumultuous development and communication mishaps. Initially, the game was taken down from Steam due to a bug, but it turned out the developer never trademarked its name, leading to legal issues and another delay to November 10th, 2023. Despite promising raw gameplay footage, its release faced further delays. When finally released, the gameplay had noticeable downgrades and copied elements, leading to negative reception. The developers addressed criticism, pushing back against disinformation. By April 2023, they announced a beta for June and new game features, though skepticism remained high. An official trailer was released but was criticized for copying a scene from “I Am Legend.”
00:20:00
In this part of the video, August 2023 sees Fantastic bracing for a potential loss in their trademark lawsuit by filing for a backup name “Day World,” although this name also faces complications due to 1980s books of the same name. Despite initial claims of no more delays, Fantastic announces another delay in November, with the PC version set for Early Access release on December 7th, while PlayStation 5 and Xbox versions are postponed indefinitely.
Amid this, they face accusations of scamming and plagiarism, which they vehemently deny, asserting their game is real and nearing release. Advertised prominently, including in Times Square, “The Day Before” finally launches. However, it falls dramatically short of expectations: marketed as an MMO, the game supports only 32 players per server, lacks promised features like survival mechanics, crafting, and environmental destruction, and offers minimal to no zombies, turning out to be a subpar extraction shooter. Performance issues, misleading trailers, and poor game mechanics lead to significant player disappointment.
00:25:00
In this segment, the YouTuber discusses a newly released game that quickly fell apart despite initial success. A money duping glitch was discovered almost immediately, leading to absurd situations like everyone having a Lamborghini in a post-apocalyptic world. The game is filled with bugs, such as players falling through the map or dying instantly upon starting, causing significant frustration. Despite selling 200,000 copies and having 40,000 players on day one, negative aspects soon dominate. The game is criticized for not being an MMO as advertised, with elements like “open world survival craft” quietly removed from its Steam page. Player dissatisfaction leads to a 60% drop in the player base overnight and a surge in refunds. Analysis of the game files reveals that many aspects, including the inventory and map, were taken directly from cheap asset packs, further angering players. The developers admit failure and shut down the studio just three days post-release. Steam steps in to offer refunds, and the game’s Discord descends into chaos, with admins quitting and selling game keys illegally.
00:30:00
In this segment, the video describes the chaotic and suspicious activities of the game studio Fantastic. Initially, the studio announced a major patch on December 14th, but it failed to materialize, and their Discord was later shut down entirely. A journalist from Singapore investigated their supposed offices, only to find they operated out of a co-working space and possibly used virtual offices to dodge Russian sanctions and secure grants. Public records indicated that in 2022, Fantastic reported $3 million in revenue, paid substantial sums to its founders, and had significant travel expenses. Various theories arose about what went wrong, including a possible scam, mismanagement, or sheer incompetence. Former developers revealed that the founders had unrealistic demands, frequently changed game direction, and enforced severe crunch times, often requiring long hours and unpaid overtime.
00:35:00
In this segment, the video discusses the controversial and chaotic development of the game “The Day Before” by Fantastic. Employees faced harsh working conditions, including spontaneous termination for minor mistakes and fines for subpar work. Despite suboptimal communication, they were recruited from small towns with limited opportunities and lured by promises of good salaries and AAA project experience.
The game underwent multiple remakes, with most of the developed content not included in the final product. Testing began only in early 2023 with insufficient resources, leading to server issues and significant content reductions. As the release date neared, the publisher intervened but concluded the game was unsalvageable.
Numerous technical problems plagued the launch, and despite efforts to fix bugs, live streaming by Dr Disrespect delayed the release of critical patches. Sales figures were initially misleading; though 200,000 copies were sold, 990,000 were returned shortly after release, leading to the game’s closure after just four days.
The developers denied responsibility and blamed content creators for the failure, but faced backlash and had to repeatedly revise their statements. Ultimately, the game failed, marred by accusations of plagiarism, potential investor fraud, and a disastrous development process.
00:40:00
In this part of the video, it is revealed that the game’s servers are shutting down after a lifespan of 45 days. The once bustling subreddit community for the game is now mostly deserted and chaotic. Additionally, the developers, known as the brothers, have not been seen since December 7th, but according to various former developers who have received offers from them, they are currently working on a new mobile game.