Glen Schofield – known for Dead Space and more recently as founder of Striking Distance Studios and its debut title,The Callisto Protocol – has suggested he could be done with game development after struggling to secure funding for his latest project.
“Game industry, it’s tough out there,” Schofield wrote on LinkedIn (via VGC), revealing over the last eight months he had been working with his daughter on a new game idea. “She came to me with it, and I immediately loved the idea. Something I hadn’t seen before. We’ve been calling it a new sub-genre of horror – not just horror, but something more,” Schofield wrote.
However, the duo failed to obtain the financial backing which would have allowed them to continue with their project.
“We pulled the budget down to $17m, built a prototype with a small, talented crew, and started taking meetings. People loved the concept. We got a lot of second and third meetings. But early feedback was ‘get it to $10m’. Lately, that number’s dropped to $2-5m,” Schofield continued, stating he and his daughter had ultimately decided to “walk away” from the project.
“Some ideas are better left untouched than done cheap. 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,” the game developer wrote. “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.”
Wrapping up his post, Schofield wrote: “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.”
Schofield founded Striking Distance Studios in 2019, before releasing The Callisto Protocol in 2022. Unfortunately, The Callisto Protocol’s critical reception was mixed and the game was met with lower-than-anticipated sales.
In 2023, Schofield announced he was parting ways with Striking Distance, calling the decision “bittersweet”.