BLOOD MOON

Striking Distance goes beyond Dead Space with the highly evolved survival horror of The Callisto Protocol

- CHRIS SCHILLING

Glen Schofield sighs, and shifts in his seat. The Striking Distance CEO is clearly excited to give us an exclusive glimpse of the opening of his studio’s forthcoming science-fiction horror The Callisto Protocol, as well as an extended look at a later section of the game. But he’s aware he has something else to address first. You wouldn’t exactly say he’s happy to talk about it – “I want to put the attention back on the game and not on this,” he says – but equally it’s clear he doesn’t want to simply sweep it under the carpet.

“Well, you know…” he begins, and sighs again. “It was a thank you,” he says, finally. He’s talking, of course, about a tweet he posted shortly after his return from a trip to promote The Callisto Protocol at Gamescom. Quickly deleted, its message about life at his studio – “working 6-7 days a week, nobody’s forcing us. Exhaustion, tired, Covid but we’re working… 12-15 hour days. This is gaming… U do it cause ya luv it” – created a firestorm among fellow developers and media alike. As per Twitter tradition, condemnation was fast and far-reaching, accusing Schofield of promoting the kind of culture of overwork that has become endemic in the videogame industry – a culture which, fortunately, many of its leaders are working to address.