Only a few weeks ago, colleague David Benke expressed doubts about the legitimacy of the much-anticipated video game The Day Before. Now there are further indications that the title will probably not appear as promised by the development team. The title that used to be the #2 most wanted game on Steam is suddenly gone. In fact, he’s no longer on Steam at all. According to a statement from developer Fntastic, The Day Before has been removed from the platform due to branding issues. Fntastic refers to a request from the US Office for Patents and Trademarks USPTO.
Problems with the trademark rights only pretended?
There is actually an application for The Day Before by an unknown individual dated May 21, 2021, while the application from Fntastic was only received by the authority on January 27, 2022. Allegedly, this individual contacted the developer and filed a complaint with the company. In addition, the person is said to have contacted Steam and is therefore responsible for the fact that the game site is now blocked. This situation makes it impossible for the studio to release a long gameplay trailer that was actually planned for this month. The release is also postponed to November 10, 2023.
Also popular with PC games readers
The Day Before: Steam page gone, release no longer likely
The release of the survival MMO The Day Before now seems anything but certain, there is currently great chaos.
Why I Don’t Believe The Day Before Will Ever Come Out | OPINION
The Day Before is one of the most eagerly awaited highlights of the gaming year 2023. On Steam it was number 1 in the Most Wishlistd Games for a long time, 220,000 followers are waiting for the release on March 1st. But will the survival MMO really come out this spring? And can the developers of FNTASTIC keep the full-bodied promises in terms of gameplay and graphics? PCG editor David Benke is very skeptical.
09:53
Why I Don’t Believe The Day Before Will Ever Come Out | OPINION
That sounds absurd at first. After all, the game was announced back in January 2021. Looking to see if the name already exists should be one of the first steps a studio should take. In addition, The Day Before is not a registered trademark, only a trademark. International trademark laws are complicated, but the bottom line is that a registered trademark ® enjoys more protection than an unregistered trademark ™. If the products or services are extremely similar, or if the person who came first suffers financial losses due to duplication, this can still have legal consequences.
On closer inspection, however, you can see that the linked product is an entry with a slightly different product classification. One of the determining factors as to whether there is a problem with the name is whether there is a likelihood of confusion between the two entries. That seems relatively unlikely, especially since registration with the authority is not the only factor when it comes to determining who is right in case of doubt. The name The Day Before was already used explicitly for the video game before January 2022, which can also be proven by trailers and co. That definitely matters.
It is therefore very surprising that this story caused such serious problems that could not have been foreseen beforehand and which (according to the developers) have now also led to a deletion by Steam.
There are already voices claiming that not Valve, but Fntastic itself is responsible for the de-listing on Steam. But that cannot be confirmed. Valve itself has not yet commented on the subject. We’ve checked with Valve and will update the article if we get a statement.
Sources: SteamDB, USPTO (1, 2)
