The Callisto Protocol released just over one month ago, on December 2, and if you've already battled your way through Black Iron Prison and viewed the accompanying credits, there are reportedly a few more names you should have seen rolling across the screen.
According to a report by GamesIndustry.biz, several former staff members of developer Striking Distance Studios were omitted from the game's credits. The website says it spoke with five former employees, who estimate that as many as 20 people across various job roles found themselves left out of the game's almost 20-minute-long credit sequence.
The omission came as a surprise to those affected, who say that they were unaware of any policy that meant if they parted ways with the studio, they wouldn't be credited for their work. One source also specifies that these individuals weren't contractors with minimal contributions but "full-time employees with over a year invested in the title, and had a hand in significant parts of the product." They added, "That's where the surprise has come from for a lot of us."
Some of those GamesIndustry.biz spoke to say they crunched during the game's production and "worked intensely to help craft this product" only to be "punished with a credit omission for not going the extra mile… to stay until it shipped."
Before The Callisto Protocol launched, CEO of Striking Distance Studios Glen Schofield came under fire for a tweet that appeared to promote crunch culture. In the tweet, the developer said making games was "hard work" but "you do it 'cause you love it" and spoke about six and seven-day working weeks, 12-15 hour days, and working through breaks. Schofield deleted the tweet and issued an apology for his comments shortly afterwards.
Anyone who knows me knows how passionate I am about the people I work with. Earlier I tweeted how proud I was of the effort and hours the team was putting in. That was wrong. We value passion and creativity, not long hours. I’m sorry to the team for coming across like this.September 3, 2022
The Callisto Protocol received a rather mixed reception from critics and fans, thanks in no small part to stuttering and performance issues with the PC version. In our review, we describe the game as "An impressive game derailed by unforgiving combat."
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