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The Callisto Protocol was released just over a month ago on December 2nd, and if you’ve already made your way through Black Iron Prison and perused the accompanying credits, there are supposedly a few more names you should see scrolling across the screen.
According to a report by GamesIndustry.biz (opens in a new tab), several former employees of developer Striking Distance Studios were omitted from the game’s credits. The site says it spoke to five former employees, who estimate as many as 20 people in various roles were left out of the game’s nearly 20-minute credit sequence.
The omission came as a surprise to those affected, who say they were unaware of any policy that meant that if they parted ways with the studio, they would not be credited for their work. One source also states that these people were not performers with minimal contributions, but “full-time employees who had invested in the title for over a year and participated in significant parts of the product.” They added: “That’s where the surprise came from for many of us.”
Some of these GamesIndustry.biz said they crunched during the production of the game and “worked hard to help make this product” only to “be penalized with a credit skip for not going the extra mile… to stay until shipped.”
Prior to the launch of The Callisto Protocol, Striking Distance Studios CEO Glen Schofield came under fire for a tweet that appeared to promote crunch culture. In a tweet, the developer said game development is “hard work” but “you do it because you love it,” and talked about six and seven days of work, 12-15 hours a day, and working on breaks. Schofield deleted the tweet and apologized for his comments shortly thereafter.
Anyone who knows me knows how passionate I am about the people I work with. I previously tweeted how proud I am of the effort and hours put in by the team. It was bad. We value passion and creativity, not long hours. I apologize to the team for meeting you this way.September 3, 2022
Callisto’s Protocol received a rather mixed reception from critics and fans, thanks in large part to stuttering and performance issues in the PC version. In our review, we describe the game as “An impressive game derailed by relentless combat.”
Check out ours game news 2023 a guide to all the best titles that will be launched this year.
