Krafton has officially confirmed recent layoffs at Striking Distance Studios, the developers of The Callisto Protocol.  While the company assures that the studio “remains operational,” and that the restructuring “will not impact any ongoing projects,” the move comes amidst ongoing challenges for the studio.

Reports of these staff reductions initially surfaced last week via LinkedIn, where multiple employees indicated their departure.  One post mentioned the layoff of a “majority of the developers,” while another described the cuts as substantial.

While both Striking Distance and Krafton have declined to comment on the specific number of employees affected, they have confirmed that the restructuring “is complete.” A Krafton representative stated, “Striking Distance Studios has right-sized its team to create a sustainable environment as the studio transitions into its next phase of growth. The studio remains operational and these changes will not impact any planned ongoing support. There are no plans for any further changes at this time.”

This is the second instance of layoffs for the studio.  Following the release of The Callisto Protocol's first DLC in August 2023, 32 employees were let go. The game, led by Dead Space creator Glen Schofield, unfortunately underperformed sales expectations. Schofield subsequently left the studio in September 2023.

While the studio recently released a smaller-scale, top-down rogue-lite shooter, [REDACTED], to positive reviews, it struggled to gain significant traction, with reported peak player counts reaching only 169.

Reports indicate that Striking Distance Studios is currently working on a new action game utilizing Unreal Engine 5.