The Callisto Protocolhasn’t sold nearly as many copies as the developer and the publisher expected it to, according to sources. The spiritual successor to the originalDead Spacewas produced by Striking Distance Studios headed by Glen Schofield, one of the industry veterans who helped work on the original EA title, but it looks like all the hype surrounding this current project and the developer pedigree haven’t helped enough.
Notably, much ofThe Callisto Protocol’s pre-release hype focused on the game’s rendition of violent close-quarters combat and gore, with exceedingly brutal and inventive character deaths being particularly important. Reviews, however, haven’t been too kind to the title: despite its remarkable graphics, its lack of replay value and important quality-of-life features meant that the scores weren’t as high as they could’ve been.
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According to information provided by K-Odyssey,The Callisto Protocolpublisher Krafton has seen a substantial stock price reduction as the result of the game’s failure to move as many copies as the studio expected it to. Specifically, it has been stated that Krafton expected the game to sell roughly 5 million copies in total: a lofty goal, it would seem, as only 2 million copies have been sold up until now. It is, perhaps, telling thatCallisto Protocol now lets players skip death animationsentirely, a feature that had been heavily marketed up until the game’s official release in late 2022.
One of the biggest problems with the game’s launch is thatThe Callisto Protocolhad substantial issues, which is sure to have put off at least some players from giving it a fair shake. According to Schofield, some of these problems were a “clerical error” that did indeed end up quickly getting resolved, but the situation is certain to have reflected poorly on the game at a critical point in its lifetime.
That being said, an expectation of being able to move a total of 5 million copies may have been too grand. Even the widely acclaimedDead Space 2sold 4 million copiesduring its heyday, only to be considered a disappointment by the publisher, Electronic Arts.Dead Spacegames have historically never moved as many copies as the more mainstream titles do, andThe Callisto Protocolwas rather obviously targeting the very same niche.
Still,Krafton’s stock has plummetedfollowing the release of a game that it had spent over 150 million dollars on. An obvious issue that may yet be alleviated by Striking Distance Studios' potentially comprehensive DLC plans forThe Callisto Protocol. The game is expected to receive months' worth of extra content over the course of 2023, which could end up helping the publisher recuperate its losses.
The Callisto Protocolis available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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