Tuesday, December 12th 2023
"The Day Before" Developer Ceases Operations 3 Days Into Game Release, Steam Steps in with Refunds
"The Day Before" is an open-world post-apocalyptic horror/survivor game that released to much fanfare on December 7. Like most games released in the past 3-odd decades, it's a little rough along the edges at launch, which its developer is expected to smoothen out with regular game patches over the following weeks or months even; if only there was a developer left. Fntastic, the game's developer, ceased operations as a business on December 11.
Everyone who pre-ordered the game and bought it after the December 7 release date, still has it; but they now stare at the prospect of a game that potentially has gameplay breaking bugs and other issues that will never be fixed. Steam's refund policy sets a 2-hour gameplay deadline in which to decide if you like what you're playing, and get a refund otherwise. Predictably, there is a large class of gamers who have played more than 2 hours, but yet are left with a potentially broken product that's no longer supported by its developer, just 3 days into its launch. Gamers took to Reddit come draft a template for support e-mails to send to Steam, requesting refunds. The store responded, and made an exception for owners of "The Day Before" to seek refunds, even if they've crossed the 2-hour gameplay limit.
Everyone who pre-ordered the game and bought it after the December 7 release date, still has it; but they now stare at the prospect of a game that potentially has gameplay breaking bugs and other issues that will never be fixed. Steam's refund policy sets a 2-hour gameplay deadline in which to decide if you like what you're playing, and get a refund otherwise. Predictably, there is a large class of gamers who have played more than 2 hours, but yet are left with a potentially broken product that's no longer supported by its developer, just 3 days into its launch. Gamers took to Reddit come draft a template for support e-mails to send to Steam, requesting refunds. The store responded, and made an exception for owners of "The Day Before" to seek refunds, even if they've crossed the 2-hour gameplay limit.