The Callisto Protocol director Glen Schofield claimed that the game was forced to ship early due to the Striking Distance Studios’ parent company, Krafton, and its insistance. As a result, development was impacted and content was cut in order to meet deadlines.
In an interview with Dan Allen Gaming, Schofield said that Krafton originally let Striking Distance Studios “put whatever they wanted” into The Callisto Protocol and promised more time to work on it. During the 2021 holiday period, Schofield formulated more ideas for the game, but afterward, Krafton suddenly wanted it to ship by December.
Schofield said that he wanted three and a half more months to work on the game, which would have put its release date into 2023. Ironically, the December 2022 deadline seemingly ended up costing Krafton more resources.
“It’s not like it costs you less money because you’re getting it out three months sooner, because if I’d just kept it on the way it was going, I wouldn’t have to add anybody,” Schofield explained. “But if you want it done, that means I’ve got to accelerate everything by three and a half months, which means I need to jam people on here.”
Due to the accelerated timeline, Schofield said four bosses and two enemy types were left on the cutting-room floor. Schofield left Striking Distance in 2023, but he provided his vision for what the potential sequel could’ve been. It would’ve included a brand-new protagonist at the start of the game, who then would’ve been killed off halfway through. Then the first game’s protagonist, Jacob, would make a surprise comeback for the rest of the game.
In August 2023, Striking Distance Studios laid off more than 30 developers shortly after releasing The Callisto Protocol’s final story DLC in June. In GameSpot’s The Callisto Protocol review, we said, “Though it starts off on a strong note, The Callisto Protocol’s focus on action-heavy spectacles fails to adequately explore its horror and overcrowds its weak combat mechanics.”
