The Callisto Protocol by the creator of Dead Space did not have the expected success. A bitter failure that game director Glen Schofield was able to make up for.
It has not been good to be a space horror game in recent years. Despite all the qualities of Dead Space Remake, which remains a masterpiece of the genre, the thing did not work out. Sales figures would obviously have remained below Electronic Arts’ forecasts and the publisher would have made the decision to terminate the license. According to information from journalist Jeff Grubb, Dead Space 2 Remake was immediately shot down. And on the site The Callisto Protocolwhich saw the light of day thanks to the creator of DS, it is not much better.
The hellish development of the Callisto Protocol
If Glen Schofield, author of The Callisto Protocol, fails to recover his fledgling license and find another partner for a sequel, it will already be the end. To cover development costs, the survival horror would have had to sell at least 5 million copies. However, the number of copies sold ultimately hovers around 2 million. The account is therefore nonexistent. RIP, little angel, gone far too soon. The Callisto Protocol is a total mess and its creator explains why, and it’s not glorious. In his opinion, Krafton, which owns PUBG Studio or Striking Distance Studios, played a bad trick on the teams.
According to Schofield, Striking Distance Studios originally had a lot of freedom in development, including the release window. But the conversation changed and Krafton pushed for the game to be available in December 2022. “I wanted to stay about three and a half months longer. I was led to believe that this would be the case. In October or September 2021, I was told: “You will have time, bring in to play whatever you want.”
Absences and departures in chaos
The teams were therefore surprised and the changes in the squad did not help either. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many studio members fell ill. Others, however, left to accept a better salary elsewhere. « Ten to twenty people a month were sick for weeks. We were devastated. At times, our entire special effects department was missing, our entire animation department. And to make up for it, 49 people resigned in 2021 because everyone was paying a lot of money. People then left for $10,000 more. 2021 was the worst development year of my life » adds the director of The Callisto Protocol.
The IPO is also an event that has increased the pressure on Striking Distance Studios, if Glen Schofield is to be believed. Asked by PCGamer for this interview, the game director admits that if he had it to do over again, he would have made his voice heard more. « I would have been more direct. I would have said, ‘I’m not publishing it.’ If you want the game to come out, you come and take over the studio.” » he concludes. Currently, Striking Distance is working on a roguelike spin-off set in the universe of The Callisto Protocol, Project Birdseye, and has released yet another ultimate update to its survival horror.
Source : PC Gamer.
