The Last of Us-inspired survival game The Day Before delayed over bizarre issue

Andrew Highton
Characters walking on a road in The Day Before.

The Day Before is a mysterious MMO zombie shooter that’s been compared to The Last of Us, and just as it was getting ready to drop its first gameplay footage, the devs have announced the game has been hit with a massive delay.

It seems like the last 10-15 years of gaming have seen a wave of undead flood the market as developers try to create the latest zombie craze. The Day Before is the latest take on the genre and gamers tend to agree that it shares many similar properties to the hit game, and now TV show, The Last of Us.

First announced in early 2021, not much has been seen or heard of The Day Before, and the game was quickly heading toward its March 2023 release window.

A complication has arisen though and the team behind the game, Fntastic, have had to disappoint expectant players with an even longer wait.

In a tweet on January 25, 2023, the devs had this to say regarding the status of the game: “Dear fans! Right before the release, Steam blocked our game page at the request of a private individual, because of the name The Day Before.

“As you know, our game was announced in January 2021. At the time of the announcement, The Day Before game trademark was available. After the announcement of the game, the above mentioned individual filled out an application before us to register the game trademark The Day Before in the United States.”

The tweet linked to the trademark case, and the team went on to say that The Day Before will now have to be delayed until November 10, 2023.

“A lengthy gameplay video” was supposed to arrive later this month, but that has also been pushed back while the team “sort this issue out first.”

The reaction to the announcement has been wholly negative with tons of users finding the scenario hard to believe.

“You guys and your “volunteer” devs are a joke. No one believes a word you say,” said one user, and another one commented: “Who announces a game without getting trademark? How many games have we heard rumors of via trademark YEARS before announcement?”

This is a very interesting story that is surely only going to become more dramatic as time goes on, so we’ll be sure to keep following the happenings of The Day Before.


For more gaming news, check out everything we know about upcoming shooter Atomic Heart, as well as the latest news on GTA 6 possibly being delayed.

Image Credit: Fntastic

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A content creator for Charlie INTEL / Dexerto that earned a degree, wrote for PlusXP, Twinfinite, and Keengamer, before finally securing his dream job of being a professional video game writer. When not writing about games, he's very busy playing every game in existence and adding to his 11,000+ PlayStation Trophies and 150+ Platinums. You can contact him at [email protected].