Callisto Protocol director claims Krafton insisted on releasing the game too soon

The Callisto Protocol director Glen Schofield has said that the game’s quality suffered because publisher Krafton insisted on releasing it too soon.

In an interview with Dan Allen Gaming (via PCGamesN), the former CEO of Callisto Protocol developer Striking Distance Studios said Krafton had given him reason to believe that he’d have more time to complete his vision for the game, only to go back on its word.

“I wanted about three and a half more months [to work on the game],” Schofield said. “And I was led to believe for about three or four months that that was the way it was going to be. So, in October or September of 2021, I was told, ‘you’re going to get the time, just no regrets’ – that was the term that kept being used. No regrets – just put whatever you want into the game.

“And so I spent that Christmas vacation just designing, coming up with ideas with some of the other guys, and [then] January comes around and some of the [Krafton] folks come over and they just said, ‘no, no, no, it’s December of 2022.’

“And I was like, ‘it’s not going to get done and it’s going to cost you more money.’ It’s not like it costs you less money because you’re getting it out three months sooner, no, because if I’d just kept it on the way it was going, I wouldn’t have to add anybody. But if you want it done, I’ve got to accelerate everything by three and a half months, which means I need to jam people on here.”

Schofield said this issue was compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw a significant number of the studio’s 200 or so employees getting sick, and large numbers of workers deciding to leave for better wages elsewhere.

“We were devastated,” he said. “Sometimes our whole department for VFX would be out, our whole animation department. And then on top of that, in 2021 we had the great resignation. 49 people quit, because everybody’s paying through the roof, and so people are leaving for $10,000 more. ‘21 was the worst year of development of my life.”

Schofield said that four bosses and two enemy types had to be cut from The Callisto Protocol.

Reflecting on things he would have done differently in hindsight, he said: “I would have put my foot down. ‘I’m not shipping it. If you want the game to ship [in December], you come and take over the studio.’”

Dead Space creator Schofield founded Krafton subsidiary Striking Distance in 2019 with the goal of crafting an original narrative experience in the PUBG universe, although the project evolved over time into a sci-fi survival horror game that was no longer tied to the franchise.

The Callisto Protocol received mixed reviews when it was released, a month before EA released a critically acclaimed Dead Space remake, and reportedly failed to meet Krafton’s sales expectations.

Schofield confirmed his “bittersweet” departure from Striking Distance in September 2023, when a Krafton representative also said he had decided to pursue new opportunities and would be leaving the company voluntarily.

Last December, Schofield teased plans to announce a new game project in 2024.