Glen Schofield Criticizes Krafton for Development Challenges of The Callisto Protocol
- Glen Schofield blames Krafton for problems faced by The Callisto Protocol due to lack of promised development time.
- The game faced significant health and logistical challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Schofield expressed frustration over Krafton’s expectations and management decisions affecting the game’s success.
Glen Schofield, the co-creator of Dead Space, has held Korean company Krafton, the publisher of his horror game successor The Callisto Protocol, responsible for its deficiencies. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Schofield conveyed his frustration over Krafton’s management of his studio, Striking Distance, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Krafton is alleged to have initially promised Striking Distance an additional three months for game development but later retracted that commitment. “I was forced to ship the game,” Schofield stated. He expressed anger toward himself, saying, “I’m mad at myself, there’s no doubt,” and shared his shock over the decision made during a time when many were suffering from the impacts of COVID-19, including the loss of his close friend.
Schofield noted that his team faced ongoing health challenges, with “four to six people in my company were getting sick” each month. He explained that the health of the team became the priority amid the pandemic, stating, “Making a game just became secondary because this is about life. This is about humanity.”
Schofield has previously mentioned that had the additional development time not been rescinded, The Callisto Protocol could have been released in March 2023 instead of December 2022. The pressures of adapting to remote work during the pandemic were substantial, leading to increased challenges in communication and project management. Schofield explained, “When you have a studio of a hundred people, you can touch a hundred people a day,” emphasizing the difficulties of remote interactions.
He remarked that the management issues they faced were partly due to “Korean management,” mentioning the necessity for Striking Distance to assemble an internal team to handle the single-player physical game release since Krafton lacked relevant experience. Additionally, Krafton mandated that The Callisto Protocol also be released on PlayStation 4, which Schofield claimed would incur an extra cost of “another $20 million” and involve distributing 200 development kits during a global chip shortage.
Despite these efforts, Krafton expressed dissatisfaction with the game’s financial outcome, with Schofield revealing, “[Krafton] thought Callisto was a complete failure.” He countered this critique by highlighting his team’s efforts in continually patching the game, stating, “I waited until I finished all the DLC and put out 86 patches,” which required substantial ongoing work to refine the game’s performance.
Upon its release, The Callisto Protocol received mixed reviews due to technical issues and design aspects, noted in a Eurogamer review by Vikki Blake, who lauded the game’s production values but criticized its depth and engagement relative to Dead Space.
News Courtesy of Eurogamer
