The Callisto Protocol was one of those highly anticipated AAA games that didn’t meet sales expectations that have been going around. A bit like Hollywood blockbusters recently. Now it seems that the studio is letting go of staff members after releasing the final DLC for the game.
Striking Distance Studios, the developer of The Callisto Protocol, has reportedly laid off 32 employees. Staff impacted by the layoffs took to LinkedIn to share that Tuesday was their last day working for the studio and that they are looking for other opportunities. The posts by staff members were initially reported by @Taleboules on Twitter.
Des licenciements chez Striking Distance Studios (@sd_studios ), 1 mois après la sortie du dernier DLC de The Callisto Protocol. pic.twitter.com/8sXaHnH7Hp
— FdeSousse (@Taleboules) August 1, 2023
According to a report by IGN, 32 employees were affected by the recent job cuts. In a statement, Krafton, the publisher and parent company of Striking Distance, said that the move was made to “realign the studio’s priorities to better position its current and future projects for success.”
“Striking Distance Studios and KRAFTON have implemented strategic changes that realign the studio’s priorities to better position its current and future projects for success,” a spokesperson said, hopefully not using “priorities” as a stand-in for PUBG.
“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.”
Striking Distance was founded three years ago to create a narrative-driven game set in the PlayersUnkown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) universe. The studio is being led by Glen Schofield, creator of Dead Space and co-founder of Sledgehammer Games.
Schofield revealed in 2022 that The Callisto Protocol will not be taking place in the PUBG universe, contrary to previous statements. According to Schofield, “It was originally part of the PUBG timeline, but grew into its own world.”
Unfortunately, The Callisto Protocol didn’t live up to expectations. The game was met with mixed reviews and performance issues leading to low sales numbers. Adding insult to injury was the significant success of the Dead Space remake sometime after.
The space survival horror was initially expected by Krafton to sell around five million units. The publisher lowered the estimate to two million by the end of 2023. The Callisto Protocol reportedly failed to recoup its $162 million development budget.
The lower sales numbers may have led to the studio downsizing its manpower. Many other game developers have similarly made moves to downsize their manpower to cut down costs and overhead. Former studio brand director Adam Krause sympathized with the staff affected by the job cuts.
“So sorry to hear about the layoffs at Striking Distance Studios today,” Krause said. “To my friends and former colleagues, please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. To everyone else, there are some insanely talented people on the lookout as of today. Please check them out.”
The Callisto Protocol is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
