Sometimes, the games industry seems like a monument to humankind’s contempt for logic. Other times, it is a beautiful scene that produces some of the most incredible art today.
Fntastic, makers of 2024’s biggest Kickstarter flop,The Day Before, definitely fall under the former.
After the disastrous launch ofThe Day Before, the company took a little break beforelaunching another Kickstarter forEscape Factory, a co-op escape game.
Unsurprisingly, given the developer’s track record,the game only raised $2388 out of its $15183 goal, which led Fntastic to cancel the project or “postpone it until a more appropriate time,” in Fntastic PR speak.
IfEscape Factory’s failurewas obvious, what immediately followed is shocking. After two massive development debacles in a record-short time,Fntastic decided to double down.
We are happy to announce the start of development on a new action-horror prop hunt game called ITEMS!
-FntasticHQ
In a social media communiqué, Fntastic says it received “many requests for a prop hunt game,” which motivated it to start a new project as theEscape Factoryfundraiser stalled.
Although no Kickstarter link is up,Fntastic openly states that it may launch a new campaignto support theITEMSdevelopment. The remaining funding will come from mobile games.
The Day Before
Late last year, Fntastic pulledone of the most egregious rug-pullsin recent gaming history throughThe Day Before.
The company’s multiplayer open worldThe Last of Uslaunched on Steam to overwhelmingly negative reviewsafter a bizarre marketing campaign that tried to activelyremind playersthat this was not a scam.
After becoming one of the most pre-ordered games on Steam despite the writing on the wall,The Day Beforeflopped hard on release. So hard, thatFntastic closed its doorsshortly after, taking the game down with it.
Fntastic vanished for nine months, returning with the now-doomedEscape FactoryKickstarter in late September.
Most of the money spent onThe Day BeforeandEscape Factorywas retrieved. Steam waived its 2-hour limit to allow anyone who bought the game to get a full refund. Meanwhile, theEscape FactoryKickstarter did not collect any funds because it failed.
The Day Beforehas become a cautionary tale about pre-ordering games, especially ambitious ones from inexperienced studios. Even if we consider thatThe Day Beforewas not a scam, players ended up without a functional game.
