Fntastic has a knack for generating scandalous occurrences, and this situation is no exception.
According to our colleagues at “Yakutia.info”, the Kazakhstan-based company Fntastic has filed a lawsuit in the Arbitration Court of Yakutia against their editorial team.
From the perspective of the game company representatives, two publications focused on the game The Day Before have allegedly damaged Fntastic’s business reputation.
According to the developers, the “information affecting aspects of business reputation” included:
- accusations of “borrowing mechanics from other games”;
- the use of the word “scam” in relation to the game.
After receiving the lawsuit, the “Yakutia.info” editorial team initially attempted to accommodate the developers. In their publications, the word “scam” was changed to “goof-up,” and the phrase about copying mechanics was replaced with an accurate quote from iXBT Games. The latter mentioned “how American bloggers discovered [in The Day Before] numerous elements borrowed from other games.”
This was not sufficient for Fntastic. According to the journalists, the company stated it would be willing to settle the conflict out of court only if the publications were removed and the editorial team issued an apology to the company.
“Yakutia.info” reports that it viewed this offer as “pressure on free speech” and decided to meet the company's lawyers in court.
In the publication from our Yakutian colleagues, it is also noted that:
- previously, Fntastic received support from the Yakutian authorities and the High Technology Park in Yakutsk;
- in 2024, Fntastic was listed in the registry of trustworthy and socially responsible enterprises in Kazakhstan.
We would like to add that “Yakutia.info” regularly covers news relating to Fntastic, often using sensational headlines like “Scandalous Yakutian Game Developers Attempt to Whitewash Reputation.” The media outlet itself is dedicated to news from the Republic of Sakha.