The Callisto Protocol has only sold two of the five million copies its publisher, Krafton, and investors had been expecting.
Korean site MK Odyssey reports that developer Striking Distance Studios spent 200 billion won - that's $161.5m/£132m - during its three-year development cycle, but the action horror's mixed reception and "sluggish" sales have also sent Krafton's share price tumbling. The majority of SDS' funding came in the game's final year of development between January and September 2022.
Consequently, several investors have since "lowered their target stock prices of Krafton" with one - Samsung Securities - reportedly saying that it "will not be easy" for the sci-fi horror to hit its five million sales target given the game's mixed reception and poor performance on PC.
The publisher reportedly plans to "rebound" with post-launch support, including new game modes, character costumes, and paid DLC.
"There's a great sci-fi game here but one marred by its combat system," Leon said in 12DOVE's The Callisto Protocol review, which he says is "a fantastic looking game that builds a great sci-fi world only to trash it with an unenjoyable combat challenge".
"I'd honestly recommend playing The Callisto Protocol on 'easy'. Once I'd finished the game on default difficulty, I restarted it on the lower setting, and it's so much more enjoyable," he wrote.
"There's still some challenge, but it's a much more manageable, and far less crushing journey. There's obviously a whole discourse here to be had on difficulty but I've reviewed the game as presented by the developers, aware that many will resist changing the challenge for one reason or another."
Several former staff members of developer Striking Distance Studios were reportedly omitted from The Callisto Protocol's credits. In an interview, five former employees estimated that as many as 20 people across various job roles found themselves left out of the game's almost 20-minute-long credit sequence, some of which were "full-time employees with over a year invested in the title, and had a hand in significant parts of the product".
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.
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