The Callisto Protocol developer Striking Distance Studios has apparently laid off the majority of its staff, at least according to two employees who were let go from the company.
As spotted by ResetEra user Cyberia (who also spotted posts confirming Wizards of the Coast subsidiary Skeleton Key's project cancellation), Striking Distance staff members Jesse Lee and Zach Volker posted on LinkedIn earlier this week confirming that they were laid off.
Lee, who served as concept art director for Striking Distance for four years, says in his post that "most of the devs" at the studio "were laid off", while Volker says there were "lots of layoffs, including [himself]".
Striking Distance itself has yet to comment on these layoffs, but we've reached out to the studio and will update this story if we hear from them.
If you're not familiar with Striking Distance, it's a studio founded by Dead Space creator Glen Schofield back in 2019. The studio's first project was survival horror title The Callisto Protocol, which was originally to be set in the PUBG universe, although this aspect of the game was subsequently downplayed.
The game's production was reportedly troubled, with staff being asked to work 100-hour weeks in order to finish the project on time.
Eventually, The Callisto Protocol was released in 2022, attracting a range of opinions. Our own Sam "awarded" the game a 4.5 out of 10, praising its "beautiful" visuals but criticizing its story, chaotic combat, and "terrible" boss encounters.
Following The Callisto Protocol's release, Striking Distance founder Glen Schofield departed the studio, with parent company Krafton confirming his departure was in order to "pursue new opportunities".
A spinoff game, [Redacted], was released back in October. Set in the same universe as The Callisto Protocol, the game eschews the Dead Space-style survival horror trappings of its parent, opting instead for a top-down action roguelike approach.
Striking Distance is far from the only studio to lay off staff in recent months. Others include Killer Instinct developer Iron Galaxy, Dragon Age: The Veilguard studio BioWare, and tech giant Microsoft, among many, many others.
