Striking Distance Studios has completed the DLC for The Callisto Protocol, released in December, and now the team, led by Glen Schofield (Dead Space), is looking ahead.
So Striking Distance Studios is backed by the co-creator of Dead Space, but the team is funded by Krafton, the publisher of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. The Callisto Protocol didn’t do too well in terms of reviews or sales (and they cheekily confirmed just before launch that they would be adding Denuvo to the below-average PC port), and we haven’t heard much from the studio since then, apart from the release of content expansions.
The team isn’t going away, but it’s a certainty that thirty-two people will be let go. Krafton has sent a statement to 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. 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.”
So, thirty-two people have been fired, but it matters from how many: if there were, say, fifty people working here before the cuts, then yes, it would be a bit dangerous, but we’re talking about 200-250 employees at Striking Distance, so this could be a slap in the face to the studio, which, while painful, won’t be felt in the long run.
It’s worth pointing out that Krafton’s statement also discussed “future projects,” so the studio is already working on something. We don’t know what it is and probably won’t for a long time. At worst, Krafton could force Striking Distance to work on PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, but that would be a bit of an excessive punishment from the publisher. Whatever happens, hopefully, they won’t have to crunch on their next project with reasonable performance, as the team has shown shortcomings in this area in the past.
Source: WCCFTech
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