While we were hoping for a spiritual successor to Dead Space, Striking Distance Studios' The Callisto Protocol didn't leave a huge impact on horror gaming. ?I didn't mind it personally, but according to director Glen Schofield, the team was under pressure to deliver ahead of schedule.

In a recent video from Dan Allen Gaming, the titular host sits down with Schofield to discuss his pretty lengthy career in the industry. One thing that did crop up in conversation was the development problems of The Callisto Protocol. That specific topic begins a??round the 12:32 mark in the below? video.

Without mincing words, when asked whether more time was needed to complete the game, Schofield replies �with slightly tired eyes �"yes, I did." He goes on to then say he wanted an??other three and a half months, adding that he was "led to believe" that that was going to be the case for the project. Alas, things didn't turn out that way, with the higher-ups insisting o?n a December 2022 release date.

"It's going to cost you more."

Schofield then makes a pretty interesting point about how rushing games out isn't an effective way to save money, saying that it actually costs a studio or publisher more. He explains that, as well as struggling to finish developing The Callisto Protocol in the allocated time period, it would necessitate him bringing on a lot more people to get the job done (30-40 instea?d of 20, he says). Hence, costs simply go up. Not to mention the additional expense of having to fix a broken game? post-release, but that's just my take.

Add onto that the impact it had on Schofield's health. Dan Allen says how stressful a job in the video game industry must be, particularly in that kind of situation. The director insists that he still enjoys what he does, though he does add that he's not sure how much more of it he could take, given that his career began in the early 1990s. It also seems that health concerns were one of the reasons he eventually left the company.

It's a shame The Callisto Protocol was something of a let-down, especially upon release. As I said, I did quite enjoy it, but I played it after the fact, once it had been patched and fixed up. Sadly, the resultant middling reception (the game has a review score of "mixed" on Steam) meant that Striking Distance had to lay off 32 employees last August. On the plus side, it looks like the studio may be working on a new game.

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The Callisto Protocol developer Striking Distance Studios has opened up some new positions for an upcoming project that's being built in Unreal Engine 5. It seem?s the studio is on the hunt for additional talent, just months after last August's layo??ffs.

As reported by VGC, Twitter user MauroNL �a games industry analyst �has noted that Striking Distance is embarking on a new venture. A total of nine vacancies have be??come available, with the studio intending to create something brand-new.

Some of the positions include a Lead Technical Artist, UI Technical Artist, Lead Gameplay Animator, and ?a Lead Gameplay Engineer. What this elusive project will be?? is anyone's guess at this stage.

Can only go up from here, yeah?

With 32 people being laid off from the studio and director Glen Schofield leaving last September, things didn't look good for Striking Distance. The Callisto Protocol should have been a slam-dunk, particularly with it being billed as a spiritual successor to Dead Space.

However, poor performance left people unimpressed with the developer's first release. While recent scores on Steam have it at "Mostly Positive," overall it remains "Mixed." Even with patches to fix issu??es, the damage appeared to have already been done.

Now that a new game is said to be in the works, maybe some will give Callisto Protocol another chance. Still, what's left of the team is still trucking along on something. Maybe the next one will be more of a success.

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While Striking Distance studios' The Callisto Protocol might've been just okay in the grand scheme of things, this wasn't enough to keep the studio trucking as it was. Following a series of layoffs, it would seem that even the top talent at Striking Distance is now setting off, including Glen Schofield himself. Bloomberg recently confirmed that Striking Distance's Chief Executive Officer Glen Schofield, as well as the chief operating and financial o?fficers, would be voluntarily leaving the studio to move on to other projects.

According to Schofield, the situation is "bittersweet." He did say, however, that he feels that "the studio is in excellent hands," with the former Chief Development Officer Steve Papoutsis taking over as the Striking Distance Studios CEO. These departures are taking place after The Callisto Protocol received its final DLC chapter, meaning ??the project is fully wrapped up ?if nothing else.

The Callisto Protocol head leaves Striking Distance Studios

It was revealed early on that The Callisto Protocol was having trouble recouping its steep development costs. As the production of the game cost over $162M, it was a given that Striking Distance and its holding company, Krafton, would be hard-pressed to make Callisto work come hell or high water. Both hell and high water appear to have struck, sadly. Bloomberg reports that The Callisto Protocol had sold fewer th?an 2M copies by January 2023, whereas the game needed to move at least 5M for its deve?lopment to have paid off.

Being a spiritual successor to the original Dead Space, The Callisto Protocol wasn't shy about announcing this fact wherever possible. Glen Schofield himself cut his teeth on Dead Space as the project's executive producer, and it was clear that the game was banking heavily on appealing to the same audiences. The biggest issue was, perhaps, that an actual first-party Dead Space remake came out not long after The Callisto Protocol, only to end up being a superior title.

According to Krafton's representative, the studio's plans "remain unaffected," though there?? haven't been any announcements as to what they might be.

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Striking Distance Studios, the developer behind 2022's The Callisto Protocol, is laying off some developers. The company confirms it has left 32 employees go in a move to "realign" the st??udio, for current and future projects.

Twitter user @bogorad222 first spotted LinkedIn messages discussing the layoffs and, in a statement sent to IGN, Striking Distance confirmed the news. The studio, known for 2022's The Callisto Protocol, says 32 employees are affected by the layoffs which were implemented "to better position its current and future projects for succe??ss."

"Striking Distance Studios and KRAFTON have implemented strategic changes that realign the studio’s priorities to better position its current and future project??s for success. Unfortunately, these changes have impacted 32 employees. Honoring the invaluable contributions of each departing team member with material support in the form of outplacement services and meaningful severance ??packages is our top priority during this difficult moment."

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT7swHyN8FQ

Striking Distance suffers layoffs

The Callisto Protocol was released to lukewarm critical reception. Though it has garnered a dedicated following, it was previously confirmed that Callisto failed to meet Krafton's sales targets.

Striking Distance also mentioned that providing ex-employees with "outplacement services and meaningful severance packages" remains a top priority. However, this is not the first time the studio finds itself at odds with its employees. After the release of The Callisto Protocol, some employees ??complained that they had not been credited for their wo??rk. A post-launch update restored their omitted development credits.

The mention of "future projects" in the statement does suggest that Striking Distance is wor??king on something new. Nevertheless, it appears the studio's debut title ??hasn't been the running start one would hope for.

The Callisto Protocol is available on PC, PlayStation 5, ?and Xbox Series X|S.

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PlayStation owners will also get it early

While hype has definitely died down for Striking Distance Studio's The Callisto Protocol, fans will be pleased to hear that some content is coming very soon. As of next week, you'll be able to download "Final Transmission," whi?ch is said, as the title denotes, to be the f??inal chapter of the game.

A post on the official Twitter account describes the closing content as "heart-pounding," and adds that PlayStation owners can exclusively get hold of the DLC 48 hours early. This means they can receive access to the title's climactic chapter on June 27, while other systems will s??ee it release on June 29.

When it launched in December 2022, The Callisto Protocol was met with a string of negative reviews. While touted as a spiritual successor to Dead Space, Glen Schofield's latest horror outing was plagued with technical issues. The studio did roll out updates t?o try and patch some of the major ones out, but it was clear that fans were not impressed with the finished product on day one.

//twitt??er.com/CallistoTheGame/status/1669804170734362625

At the start of 2023, the release received a New Game+ update, but outside that, not much has happened with The Callisto Protocol for some time now. For those that were after something that could plug a Dead Space-sized hole, Striking Distance's survival horror title left some feeling rather unfulfilled. Kind of like how Back 4 Blood was supposed to be a spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead, but was, ultimately somewhat lacking.

In any case, for anyone who did enjoy The Callisto Protocol, The Final Transmission DLC is definitely something to look forward to. Perhaps Schofield and his team ??w?ill move onto a new project after this.

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Survive through space horror, again

If you wanted a reason to play back through a late 2022 game again this weekend, The Callisto Protocol just got one. Striking Distance Studios released a new update for The Callisto Protocol last night that includes New Game+.

After updating to the most recent patch, players who have beaten the game should have access to the New Game+ mode. You'll need an active save file from finishing the game, and you might need to restart The Callisto Protocol to see it. With New Game+, you can carry over all your weapons, upgrades, and Callisto Cr??edits from your previous run.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT7swHyN8FQ

Alongside the new mode, there's a??lso a number ?of updates to the game itself. General performance optimizations have been made across all platforms, and multiple issues where camera angles or paths could cause the player to fall through the ground have been fixed.

Players should also no longer take damage when vaulting over obstacles, making the environment a little less of an enemy. Other crash areas for specific platforms have been addressed, too. You can find the full patch notes on The Callisto Protocol subreddit here.

And now you're back, from outer space

The debut survival horror game from Striking Distance Studios has been gradually patching up its game since launch. The Callisto Protocol had some notable launch issues, some of which we experienced ourselves during our review process.

It's been nice to at least see some of the technical issues get addressed? alongside new options like New Game+ rolling out. If you're someone who's wanted to do a second run through the space-jail horror experience, this seems like a good reason to do so.

Striking Distance was also the subject of a recent report, where several former developers alleged their names were left off the credits for the game.

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Former employees, including some in senior roles, say they didn't make it in

Former employees of Striking Distance Studios, the developer behind The Callisto Protocol, say they were left out of the game's credits. A new report alleges a number of former developers were left off The Callisto Protocol's credits, without clear explanation.

GamesIndustry.biz's report cites several sources, including five former Striking Distance Studios developers who were left off the credits for The Callisto Protocol. Additional sources estimate roughly 20 people we?re left off, including some in senior roles who made reportedly key contributions.

The sources also point towards an inconsistency in how Striking Distance credits people who worked on the game. Some former employees are li??sted as additional assistance in their respective departments, while others are grouped together in a miscellaneous category, and others left off. These omissions were described by ?one source to GI Biz as "egregious".

We've reached out to get comment from Striking Distance Studios. A representative for the studio did not return a request for comment to GI Biz for their report, which also covers concerns of crunch and culture at the studio. Whil?e one source tells GI Biz they enjoyed their time at the studio, another describes the omission as "an obvious F-U" to those perceived? as disloyal to the studio.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT7swHyN8FQ

Credits in games

Attributing credit to developers has been a hot-button issue for a while now. As a 2020 Kotaku report outlines, credits can be used as a reward, or as a punitive measure. It's unclear what the reasoning may be for this reported omission in The Callisto Protocol.

The sci-fi survival horror title is the debut game from Striking Distance Studios, a development house founded by Dead Space veteran Glen Schofield. Our review of The Callisto Protocol found it had a solid concept, but was mired in technical issues and mechanic??s that didn't quite cli??ck.

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Mid Space

Sorry this review took so long! Our reviewer had the game crash on them on PS5 during the initial process: and after the performance patch. Meanwhile, I had a smoother experience playing The Callisto Protocol: but it didn't help all that much.

The Callisto Protocol (PC, PS4, PS5 [reviewed], Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)
Developer: Striking Distance Studios
Publisher: Krafton
Released: December 2, 2022
MSRP: $59.99/$69.99

At first, I was floored to dig more into this world. When your horror adventure starts off with a sci-fi plane crash and the main character (played by a confident Josh Duhamel, who recently did a mean rendition of Harvey Dent/Two-Face in The Killing Joke animated two-parter) is hauled away by hulking robotic guards to prison, I'm in.

The initial mystery of Callisto Protocol is particularly intriguing. What is even happening in this universe? How are you going to escape? What's the deal with the organic Resident Evil-esque creatures? Being a prisoner immediately puts you at odds with this world and grounds you in it. The slow buildup is fun to play through, and the entire idea of "a prison escape with creatures" must have been a hell of a pitch. All of this is sold with fairly lifelike character models and some decent performances, but Callisto Protocol just doesn't deliver as? time goes on, after the secret sauce is plopped on your plate. The more you progress, the less interesting things get.

As the creatures take the center stage, a few of them are more annoying than formidable. Callisto Protocol relies heavily on jump scares, which sucks away a lot of the legitimate tension when things start feeling artificial. You'll battle these creatures with a melee weapon (?a crowbar, which is quickly tossed for a shock stick upgrade), and you'll get your firs??t gun (a pistol) around an hour in. It has the whole survival horror suite: limited inventory, scarce ammo, the whole nine yards. There's even a dedicated stomp button that squishes out items from dead enemies, in a super (welcome) arcadey way.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2jrVnnefE8

On paper, this seems like a decent way to build a survival horror game, but the seams slowly disintegrated. The dodge system is utterly bizarre, for one. It encourages players to press a direction on the analog stick to dodge enemy attacks, alternating directions for subsequent strikes. One-on-one, Callisto Protocol feels manageable. But in the thankfully rarer s??equences where more enemies are thrown in, it can get unwieldly because of the clunk, especially when deciphering enemy animations. Throwing QTEs in for good measure (you can turn the??m off in the options menu) is a risky move, but another left hook I can dodge.

One very cool half-done mechanic is quick-firing, which can be done after a reticle pops up on-screen after a melee attack. It's essentially a quick draw shot that aims at a critical body part of an enemy, and it felt legitimately action-hero-cool to pull it off quickly, then weave another melee hit in afterward. Like every facet of Callisto, there's flashes of brilliance there to remind you that some of these developers worked on Dead Space.

If you like navigating messy systems, you might see it as a challenge, especially on normal difficulty or above (which is a great PS+ or Game Pass gamble, if that opportunity ever arises). I know I did! This is such a weird game to assess, because although I did adapt to it, it's mind-boggling how some of these mechanics passed the idea phase. It's like someone wanted to reinvent the wh??eel of how survival horror action systems should work, and no one told them "no." I can see why it's been so polarizing, and I have played worse, but alongside of the technic?al problems, it's clear that this game could have used more time in the oven.

As I said earlier I played it after some patches were applied, and while I didn't have hard crashes or concerning framerate issues, I did encounter audio bugs (where some intense dialogue wouldn't even play, despite having subtitles for it). Also, having to remain stationary to listen to audio logs in 2022 is a choice. Checkpoints are amateurish too: if you die, depending on the checkpoint, you may have to redo every single thing yo??u did for minutes at a time, including slowly buying safe zone upgrades and w??aiting for them to 3D print.

Like many things that Callisto Protocol does, the linear structure could be a source of contention, but I actually enjoyed it. There's enough open world/live service games in the market as it is, and Callisto has some degree of freedom with hidden rooms or extra caches of ammo or upgrades: all with the mostly welcome burden of inventory management. ??When you have enough ammo to take on an enemy it feels like an achievement, because you took the time to uncover a secret area.

If Callisto Protocol was able to get out of it??s own way (and was less glitchy at launch), it probably would have been an ?even bigger hit. If they're aiming for a follow-up I hope they take a lot of the criticism to heart, because there's something here.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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Further fixes in the works

[Update: Striking Distance Studios has released a second major update for the PC edition of The Callisto Protocol, ??focusing on PSO Caching and aiming to further reduce screen stuttering and improve overall performance. Further patches for both PC and console are in the works.]

Krafton and Striking Distance Studios have begun addressing the technical issues affecting sci-fi horror title The Callisto Protocol �/em> The?? development team has already rolled out new patches on PC and c??onsole platforms, hoping to fix some of the bugs and glitches plaguing the occupants of Black Iron Prison.