‘The Day Before’ developer uses unpaid “volunteers” despite being Steam’s most wishlisted game

After The Day Before was pushed back to a 2023 launch, it has been revealed that developer Fntastic uses unpaid volunteers to help create the game.

As spotted by WellPlayed (via news.com.au), an update to Fntastic’s website shares that “Fntastic’s culture is based on the idea of volunteering. This means that every Fntastic member is a volunteer.”

Fntastic outlines that while “full-time volunteers” are essentially paid workers, “part-time volunteers” are unpaid developers that are instead given “cool rewards, participation certificates, and free codes” for their work.

“Part-time volunteering at Fntastic includes various activities ranging from translating to community moderating. Part-time volunteers also can offer their unique skills to improve our projects or create new special features,” adds the site.

The description appears to state that unpaid volunteers are being used to develop The Day Before, despite its high-profile nature. The game is currently the most wishlisted game on Steam, and last month Fntastic shared that “millions” of players have the game on their wishlist.

The Day Before was originally set to launch in June 2022, but in a statement shared in May, Fntastic announced that fans will need to wait until March 1, 2023, to play the game.

“Feeling and understanding the great responsibility that we face, with enormous gratitude in our hearts, we’re pleased to announce that The Day Before is switching to the new Unreal Engine 5 technology,” reads the statement.

“The transition to a more advanced and adapted open worlds engine, will make the gameplay of The Day Before even more fantastic. In this regard, we inform you that the new release date of the game will be March 1, 2023,” says Fntastic, though it’s unclear if porting The Day Before to Unreal Engine 5 is work that unpaid volunteers are being used for.

NME has reached out to Fntastic for comment.

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