Dead Space fans have been getting over the heartbreak of the franchise’s (and its developer’s) demise for some years now, but recently, we were treated to the announcement of a game that looks to be filling the void that it left behind. Striking Distance announced The Callisto Protocol at The Game Awards, with its development being led up by Dead Space co-creator Glen Schofield, and the team working on it being comprised of many former Dead Space developers. That, and the fact that the game has a sci-fi survival horror setting, has led to many comparisons between the two properties.
Speaking recently in an interview with VG247, Striking Distance’s chief development officer Steve Papoutsis (who was also managing director at Dead Space developer Visceral Games) addressed the comparisons.
“It’s not surprising given that a lot of the people that are working on the project also worked on the Dead Space series,” Papoutsis said. “It’s interesting that people are putting that together. We’re passionate about the game we’re working on and it’s nice to hear people reminiscing about those games that many of us have fond memories around.”
“There’s just a passion here for horror games from me, Glen and some of the wonderful team we have assembled,” Papoutsis said when asked about what formed the core of the game’s idea at the outset of development. “We were hoping to do something that was single-player driven, story-focused that provided a lot of opportunities for scares. We had some cool ideas around the theme in terms of where it’s going to take place – on a prison colony on Jupiter’s dead moon, Callisto. That was literally the top-line lift pitch.”
The Callisto Protocol is due out some time in 2022 for the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.