Steam's second-most-anticipated game is finally going to show some footage just a month before it launches

(Image credit: Fntastic)

You may have forgotten about The Day Before by now. It was first announced in January 2021 as "an open-world MMO survival" game, and then in April of that year we got a 10-minute gameplay video. And that's really been it—nothing of substance has been heard about the game since.

That situation will soon change, though, as developer Fntastic says that it will reveal "raw gameplay footage" from The Day Before later this month.

"We are pleased to inform you that the wait for news regarding our game release is coming to an end," Fntastic wrote in a Discord announcement. "After careful consideration and discussions with our leadership team, we have received approval to share the information you have been eagerly anticipating.

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"This month, we will be releasing raw gameplay footage, as per the numerous requests received from our community. This footage will showcase a majority of the features and gameplay elements requested by our community and will provide a clear glimpse into the current state of development for The Day Before."

It's not all that terribly unusual for a studio to go quiet in the midst of game development. What makes The Day Before situation so odd is that, according to Steam, it's set to launch on March 1. That's just a month and a half from now, and yet it apparently took "careful consideration and discussions" to decide to publicly showcase the game. That seems weird, right?

The Day Before isn't Fntastic's first kick at the cat: Prior to this, it released the well-received survival adventure The Wild Game, which made Chris eat his own dead body to stay alive. It's also very highly anticipated, second only to Hogwarts Legacy on Steam's top wishlists chart. It's possible, I suppose, that the silence is strategy, and if so it seems to be paying off, at least based on the interest being shown on Steam. Still seems a little weird to me, though.

We'll definitely be keeping an eye out for that gameplay footage, and whatever comes after it. In the meantime, I've reached out to Fntastic to ask why the studio has been so quiet with the release date so close, and will update if I receive a reply.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.