Game news The Callisto Protocol: follow-up, DLC … the future of survival-horror would already be assured
Published on 03/09/2022 at 14:08
Scheduled for next December, The Callisto Protocol presents itself as a claustrophobic sci-fi survival-horror, heir to the famous Dead Space. The Striking Distance studio has not yet offered its game to the general public that it is already considering its sequel, with several new features and additions in the form of DLC.
A game richer than it seems
The Callisto Protocol wants to be the worthy heir of the famous Dead Space. Thought by Glen Schofield, the creator of Dead Space himself, the Striking Distance game shares a disturbing kinship with its predecessor. Stuck on the moon Callisto, Jacob Lee finds himself locked in a high-security prison that finds itself overrun with terrifying humanoid creatures. Scary, visceral and breathless, if it keeps all its promises, The Callisto Protocol might be one of the essentials of the year.
But more than just a bloody horror game, The Callisto Protocol should also present a rich universe, which might tell many stories. In any case, that’s what Mark James, director of new technologies at Striking Distance, thinks during a recent interview given during Gamescom.
We thought of the world (of The Callisto Protocol) as expansive. We have created a world that can tell different stories, which we can tell with DLCs or with other products. We left that open. -Mark James.
Tomorrow it all starts
According to Mark James, this idea of an expandable universe is designed to leave room for future additional content. In the interview given to TrueTrophiesMark James explains that The Callisto Protocol is thought of as a license for the years to come.
We see (The Callisto Protocol) as a “full-service” title and we intend to invest in DLC. We’re looking at four years of follow-up following the game’s release. (…) We like to think of it as a franchise – every developer that takes on a new license, they look at it as an investment for a franchise. It’s very expensive to create new licenses, so we always want to try to get the most out of it.
Obviously, the mention of DLCs will not surprise anyone when you know that collectors editions will come with Season Passes. On the other hand, knowing that The Callisto Protocol would be entitled to a follow-up of almost four years is good information to take. Striking Distance and Krafton have to rely heavily on their new license to estimate such tracking. It remains to be seen whether the game will meet the expected success or not, in which case the studio might revise its plans downwards.
Regarding the content of its future DLCs and whether the game will also be entitled to free additional content, Mark James offers few details. If he does not rule out the door to new game modes inspired by other survival-horror, the director of new technologies of Striking Distance rather suggests additional campaigns.
For the moment, we have a linear story mode (…) but we might tell for example the appearance of the epidemic without touching the main story.
See you next December 2 on PS5, Ps4, Xbox Series, Xbox One and PC to see what The Callisto Protocol already has to offer us with its campaign.
