The builders behind 2023’s disastrous survival MMO The Day Earlier than need a second probability. Greater than 9 months after studio Fntastic introduced it was closing down within the wake of The Day Earlier than’s spectacular flame-out, former members of that dev staff introduced Fntastic 2.0, which they describe as “a plan for restoration” for the beleaguered firm.
Fntastic 2.0 will give attention to honesty, transparency, and professionalism, based on a PDF of the corporate’s plan. “Any longer, our improvement and advertising and marketing will likely be primarily based on the precept of honesty,” builders mentioned within the doc. “We perceive the errors and absence of previous communications. We commit to making sure transparency in improvement and overtly offering trustworthy and complete data.”
The studio additionally pledges to maneuver from a volunteer-driven method — unpaid volunteers have been behind a few of The Day Earlier than’s improvement — to “one firmly rooted in professionalism,” although it’s unclear precisely what this implies. The individuals behind Fntastic 2.0 use non-specific language, saying they may “collect business professionals and specialists,” “enhance our present workers’ expertise,” and “constantly elevate all requirements and practices.”
In line with an FAQ revealed by Fntastic, the staff has turn out to be “smaller, however it nonetheless consists of the identical individuals who created all of our earlier video games.”
Alongside the announcement of Fntastic 2.0, the developer launched a Kickstarter marketing campaign to assist fund a brand new recreation on the studio. The sport, Escape Manufacturing facility, is pitched as a physics-based, multiplayer co-op escape recreation during which gamers navigate their method by means of harmful factories. Escape Manufacturing facility seems to be impressed by multiplayer video games like Fall Guys and Celebration Animals, with a forged of cute manufacturing unit employees attempting to outlive a sequence of lethal traps. A demo is offered on Steam.
Escape Manufacturing facility’s Kickstarter marketing campaign seems to be on observe to fail. The developer has raised simply $2,348 towards its $15,539 aim in its first week. The marketing campaign has 23 days left to go. Fntastic says that if Escape Manufacturing facility’s Kickstarter marketing campaign is unsuccessful, “we gained’t be capable of return,” and the sport gained’t be launched. Builders mentioned on Discord that they’ve additionally been trolled by Kickstarter customers, with one massive contribution pledged after which retracted.
Whereas the individuals behind Fntastic’s tried return say they’re dedicated to transparency and open communication, the overall tenor of debate from would-be gamers on Escape Manufacturing facility’s Kickstarter web page and on the Fntastic official Discord server is pessimistic and accusatory. Many say Fntastic’s newest undertaking and its try to return are all a rip-off, a typical chorus in discussions regarding The Day Earlier than.
Polygon has tried to contact Fntastic founders Eduard and Aisen Gotovtsev, through their official and private electronic mail addresses, however has not acquired a response to a number of emails and Discord messages. We’ve additionally contacted others listed as builders on the Fntastic Discord and haven’t acquired a response.
Fntastic shot to fame in 2021 when it first revealed The Day Earlier than. The “open-world multiplayer survival recreation” set in a “enormous, stunningly detailed post-apocalyptic world” wowed viewers with its visuals and pre-release gameplay footage. However after experiencing a number of delays and amassing an enormous fanbase, The Day Earlier than landed with a thud, affected by shallow gameplay and main technical points at launch. The Day Earlier than was shut down inside weeks of its debut, and Fntastic fell out with its writer, Mytona, dropping the rights to The Day Earlier than and a beforehand launched prop-hunt-style recreation, Propnight.
If Fntastic’s return hinges on Escape Manufacturing facility’s Kickstarter marketing campaign being efficiently funded, the corporate appears unlikely to get its second probability. The developer says it has “many thrilling plans for future video games,” together with a brand new model of Propnight, however its “2.0” plans, so far, don’t bode effectively for a revival of Fntastic.
