The Callisto Protocol developer Striking Distance Studios has seemingly been hit with a series of layoffs, letting go of 32 of its employees. The studio is calling this a move to “realign the studio’s priorities to better position its current and future projects for success.”
Originally spotted by Twitter user Timur222 through a series of posts on LinkedIn, the layoffs include a number of key members of the staff. The layoffs have also since been confirmed by IGN.
“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,” said the studio in a statement to IGN. “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 and meaningful severance packages is our top priority during this difficult moment.”
Striking Distance Studios has so far released one major title—The Callisto Protocol—which recently saw the release of its final DLC, titled Final Transmission. The game has seen quite a few updates since its release, including a recent update for the PC version fixing its ray tracing-related crashes and issues with the Final Transmission DLC.
It was previously reported that The Callisto Protocol cost roughly $162 million in development costs over three years, not including marketing, though internal sales projections at Krafton were reportedly lowered from 5 million to 2 million by the end of 2023 following lukewarm critical reception for the horror title.
The Callisto Protocol is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, and you can read our review of the game for more details.
Striking Distance Studios(The Callisto Protocol) had layoffs yesterday pic.twitter.com/KdC7wJXPFE
— Timur222 (@bogorad222) August 2, 2023
