The Callisto Protocol’s writer, Krafton, is fairly sad with how a lot the sport is promoting, however it would possibly solely have itself accountable. As reported by Yonhap (opens in new tab), the sport’s gross sales expectations have been revised considerably downwards after it failed to fulfill the writer’s ridiculous expectations since its launch final month. Krafton had anticipated The Callisto Protocol to promote 5 million copies this yr, however now places that determine at round 2 million, which it admits nonetheless “is not going to be simple.”
In briefings through the sport’s growth, Krafton talked up The Callisto Protocol as a “Quad A (AAAA), all day!” experience (opens in new tab), which matches some strategy to explaining why the corporate poured 200 billion gained ($161.6 million/£129.8 million) into the sport over the course of three years. Even if The Callisto Protocol was the primary sport in a brand new collection from a brand new studio, Krafton had excessive hopes for it, however these hopes have collided with actuality because the sport’s launch.
Though The Callisto Protocol carries a Lifeless House pedigree—the sport was helmed by Lifeless House creator Glen Schofield—it was profoundly unlikely to promote 5 million copies even when it had obtained a hotter important response than it did. The Lifeless House video games are well-loved and well-known (sufficient for EA to greenlight a full remake of the primary sport (opens in new tab)), however they weren’t sales titans even in their own time (opens in new tab). Anticipating one thing that does not even put on the Lifeless House title to massively outperform these video games looks as if the form of shared delusion that is solely attainable in company boardrooms.
Yonhap stories that Krafton hopes it will gin up extra enthusiasm for the sport with post-release help and content material, together with new sport modes, story DLC, and beauty add-ons. You possibly can take a look at The Callisto Protocol’s DLC roadmap (opens in new tab) (sparse on element as it’s) in a tweet from the sport’s official account made simply earlier than launch final yr.
Regardless of its flaws, we really had a reasonably good time with The Callisto Protocol right here at PC Gamer. Our reviewer, Shaun Prescott, scored the sport 79% in his Callisto Protocol overview (opens in new tab), criticising its overuse of clichés however praising it for nailing the fundamentals of an “participating, linear sci-fi survival horror that spins a deepening dystopian yarn round dozens of anxious encounters”.