The co-creator of Dead Space and founder of Striking Distance Studios, Glen Schofield, has opted to leave the studio after the studio’s first title The Callisto Protocol reportedly failed to meet expectations.
The video game developer Striking Distance Studios is already shaking up their management after releasing their first title The Callisto Protocol. The studio was founded in 2019 by Glen Schofield and co. to produce a spiritual successor to the massive hit that was Dead Space, another space horror title Schofield co-created with Electronic Arts back in 2008. Schofield isn’t the only member of upper management leaving Striking Distance Studios, the chief operating officer and chief financial officer are also leaving Bloomberg reports. Krafton, the publisher behind Striking Distance, says all three exit decisions were made by the executives themselves.
The initial sales projections for The Callisto Protocol had Krafton wanting the title to sell around 5 million copies, which is far more than what analysts figured would be 2 million in January 2023 according to PCGamer. Considering Krafton poured over $160 million into the title, the sales figures fell well short of the publisher’s expectations.
The Callisto Protocol also launched to mediocre review scores which likely didn’t help the sales numbers. Metacritic scored the game a 69% across all platforms for critics and users alike, and CGMagazine’s own 6.5/10 review said: “The Callisto Protocol isn’t a terrible game but one that feels incredibly uninspired and safe, making it hard to recommend for both fans of the source material and newcomers alike.” Glen Schofield is reportedly being replaced by Chief Development Officer Steve Papoutsis as CEO, to which Schofield said “I know the studio is in excellent hands.”
Whether or not the studio remains committed to the IP of The Callisto Protocol remains uncertain, but Krafton did tell Bloomberg the “studio’s plans remain unaffected.”
