The Studio Behind The Callisto Protocol Laid Off Most of Its Developers
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Key points
- Striking Distance Studios has laid off most of its developers according to LinkedIn posts by the affected employees.
- A statement provided by a Krafton representative to PC Gamer says that despite the layoffs, the studio remains functional.
- Striking Distance Studios released The Callisto Protocol in December 2022. The game failed to reach the expectations of Krafton.
Striking Distance Studios has been gutted as most of its developers have been impacted by the recent layoffs. Krafton, the parent company of Striking Distance Studios, has acknowledged the layoffs but has not provided solid numbers.
According to a Krafton representative that provided a statement to PC Gamer, the studio has reduced its size to stay agile and that the studio remains operational. This despite claims from employees that were laid off considering it a very massive one.
The layoffs were first spotted by PC Gamer in the way of employees posting their experiences on LinkedIn. Jesse Lee, a concept art director mentions in their post that “most of the devs were laid off,” and that the situation was overwhelming at the time of posting.
This isn’t the first time Striking Distance Studios has laid off employees, however, it might be the biggest one yet. In August 2023, the studio laid off 32 staff members which Krafton called a realignment of the studio’s priorities to position it for current and future project successes.
A few months before the lay offs in August, in December 2022, the studio released
The Callisto Protocol to mixed reviews. The PC version of the game received a 68 rating from Metacritic and the game has failed to reach the expectations of Krafton. The company expected cumulative sales of 5 million copies but has changed this sales target down to 2.1 million.
