Glen Schofield, who co-created Dead Space, co-founded Sledgehammer Games, and most recently directed The Callisto Protocol, said “it’s tough out there” in the games industry, and admitted he had potentially “directed my last game” after failing to secure financial support for his latest prototype.
In a candid post on LinkedIn, Schofield said he’d been working with his “great artist” daughter, Nicole, who went to him with an idea for a new horror game — maybe even a new horror sub-genre, although he didn’t specify what — and had been working on the idea for the last eight months.
Alongside a “small, talented crew” of six U.S. devs and a “full crew” in the UK, Schofield said he started talking to people, most of whom “loved the concept.” Initially surmising he’d need around $17 million, the director was advised to lower the budget to “get it to $10 million,” before being told to further streamline the project to come in at around “$2-5 million.”
“So last month, we decided to walk away. Some ideas are better left untouched than done cheap,” Schofield wrote. “We had a team of six here in the States and a full crew in the UK. Now, everyone’s looking for work. They’re all talented folks — if you’re hiring, let me know.
“As for me — I’ve worked on games of every size. From two of us to over 300 devs. Spent the last 15–20 years making big AAA titles with great teams. That’s what I do. That’s what I love. But with the industry on pause, AAA feels like it’s a long ways away.”
Schofield says he’s “back to [his] art,” but admits he misses AAA development.
“I miss it all; the team, the chaos, the joy of building something for fans. I’m still around, making art, writing stories and ideas, and still cheering the industry on. But maybe I’ve directed my last game. Who knows? If so, thank you [for] playing my games.”
Striking Distance was founded over six years ago by Schofield. The studio is a subsidiary of Krafton, the parent company that owns the rights to the widely popular battle royale game PUBG. The studio was initially formed to create a narrative-driven game set in the PUBG universe, but ultimately released The Callisto Protocol, a third-person survival horror separate from PUBG that released in December 2022.
Callisto Protocol was met with mixed reviews and plagued with problems, from performance issues to reports of studio crunch and issues with crediting people who contributed to the development. Roughly a month after release, it was reported that the game failed to meet Krafton’s sales expectations, and Schofield eventually left the company in September 2023.
We thought The Callisto Protocol was ‘Good,’ awarding it a 7/10 in our review, writing: “The Callisto Protocol is a satisfyingly gory spiritual successor to the Dead Space series, but it’s ultimately more of a striking modern mimic than a scary new mutation.”
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
