"I Was Forced To Ship The Game" - Glen Schofield Blames Krafton Management For The Callisto Protocol's Problems
Glen Schofield, co-creator of Dead Space, has assigned responsibility for the flaws of The Callisto Protocol to publisher Krafton. In a recent interview, he stated that the publisher withdrew a promised three-month development extension during the pandemic and forced an early release, alongside mandating costly last-generation console ports.
Game developer Glen Schofield, widely known for his work co-creating Dead Space, has publicly criticized Krafton regarding the issues that impacted the launch of The Callisto Protocol. According to Schofield, the executive team at the South Korean company—best known for publishing PUBG—was responsible for critical missteps during the production and launch of the horror title developed by his studio, Striking Distance.
Central to Schofield's critique was the publisher's handling of development timelines during the global health crisis. He revealed that Krafton had initially agreed to grant Striking Distance an additional three months of production time. This grace period would have shifted the game's release window from December 2022 to March 2023. However, Krafton unexpectedly reversed its decision and required the studio to ship the title on the original date.
The unexpected mandate to deliver the project early severely impacted the team as it was navigating significant health-related disruptions. Schofield noted that constant illnesses regularly pulled staff members away from work, at times completely halting operations for specialized groups like the rendering team based in Spain. Adapting to remote management required setting up individual calls and frequent Zoom sessions for the hundred-person team, making game creation secondary to maintaining employee health during a severe national crisis.
Beyond schedule changes, Schofield stated that Krafton lacked the necessary expertise to handle a major single-player physical release. This operational gap required Striking Distance to construct its own internal department to manage distribution tasks that typically fall to a publisher. Schofield argued that Krafton was ill-prepared for its expansion into high-budget, single-player gaming experiences.
Production costs were further inflated by publisher demands regarding target platforms. Schofield indicated that Krafton insisted on launching the game on PlayStation 4 alongside the PlayStation 5 version. Fulfilling this requirement reportedly added $20 million to the budget and forced the studio to navigate severe global semiconductor shortages to distribute approximately 200 specialized development kits to engineers.
Following its release, The Callisto Protocol faced criticism over performance issues and specific combat mechanics, leading Krafton to view the title as a commercial disappointment. In response, Schofield delayed his departure until the team produced 86 post-launch updates and completed all planned downloadable content to elevate the product to its intended standard.
Source: Eurogamer — original reporting
Updated