A month into release, Striking Distance Studios’ The Callisto Protocol has reportedly failed to meet sales expectations by a significant margin, with analysts lowering cumulative sales targets from five million units to two million units this year. Krafton, having spent nearly 200 billion won ($162 million) on the game as its publisher, is struggling to recoup its investment, and has seen its target stock prices reduced across the securities industry.

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Helmed by Dead Space creator Glen Schofield and featuring performances from Josh Duhamel and Karen Fukuhara, Striking Distance Studios’ The Callisto Protocol was plagued by performance issues when it released last month. While our review of the Callisto Protocol found it an “audiovisual treat”, the game underperformed in narrative and game design, and critical reception across platforms has reflected that sentiment. Krafton, the game’s publisher, paid nearly 200 million won to Striking Distance Studios over the course of the game’s development, but is now struggling to break even on the project.

According to analyst firm Samsung Securities’ stock report, Krafton expected sales of The Callisto Protocol to cumulatively reach five million copies, but that has now been revised to two million units over the course of 2023. The company’s operating profit estimate for this year has also been lowered from 813 billion won ($656 million) to 629.3 billion won ($508 million). The Callisto Protocol is expected to be the focus of the company’s fourth-quarter earnings announcement to be announced next month.

Krafton is planning a comeback for The Callisto Protocol with extended post-launch plans for the game, including New Game Plus and Hardcore modes releasing next month, and additional story DLC coming out in the summer. The game is available now on the PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC.

Source: K-Odyssey