Callisto Protocol Was Costly and Failed to Meet Expectations; Cue Layoffs
Striking Distance, studio responsible for survival horror The Callisto Protocol, has laid off 32 employees. The move is aimed at changing priorities to ensure the success of current and future projects.
Striking Distance studio, behind the game The Callisto Protocol, has said goodbye to 32 employees as part of an internal restructuring.. Given that 144 people have worked at the company so far (according to the information on the developers' website), the percentage of layoffs is quite high.
The layoffs were confirmed by a spokesman for Krafton, the parent company of Striking Distance Studios.
"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. 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 [a program to support former employees' search for new employment - editor's note]. and meaningful severance packages is our top priority during this difficult moment," reads a statement sent to the editors of IGN.
Interestingly, the developers made the announcement of layoffs only after a number of former employees had already reported online that their contracts had been terminated (via VGC).
And while Krafton did not announce the reasons for the layoffs, it is clear that the results of the aforementioned survival horror game had played their role. Creating a spiritual successor to the iconic Dead Space consumed 162 million dollars, but on release - mainly due to a ton of shortcomings - the game was met with harsh criticism from gamers, which is still evident on Steam. Despite the numerous improvements the developers have made since launch day, the title continues to "enjoy" mixed reviews on Valve's platform.
As a result, out of the expected 5 million copies, the game sold "only" 2 million copies a few weeks after its debut.
