The Callisto Protocol, one of the most anticipated horror games, has come out to some mixed reviews and received criticism from PC players. As a result, the game’s publisher Krafton saw its shares decline.
What happened?
Krafton shares closed at ₩201.5k (around $155.4) today. This is a 8.41% decrease compared to the previous close of ₩220k ($169.6).
Serkan Toto, industry analyst and CEO of Kantan Games, was the first to report on the fall. He cited the low Metascore of The Callisto Protocol as the reason for such a sharp decline, adding that Krafton investors “were hoping the IP could become a new pillar for the PUBG company.”
Stock in Krafton, the company behind The Callisto Protocol studio Striking Distance, closed down -8.41% today in Seoul.
TCP’s metacritic score is in the mid 70s, apparently too low for Krafton investors who were hoping the IP could become a new pillar for the PUBG company.
— Dr. Serkan Toto / Kantan Games Inc. (@serkantoto) December 2, 2022
How did the press and players react to The Callisto Protocol?
Prior to its launch, The Callisto Protocol was one of the most anticipated games of the season. Despite getting generally positive reviews on Metacritic, some of them were mixed, bringing an average score to 75-76 (depending on the platform).
While some journalists praised the game for outstanding visuals and its stressful atmosphere, others criticized it for “unenjoyable combat challenge” and for being a pale shadow of Dead Space.
On top of that, the PC version has a lot of technical issues, including shader compilation stutters and poor optimization. As a result, players criticized The Callisto Protocol on Steam, where it currently has only 29% positive reviews.
Digital Foundry’s John Linneman said he enjoyed the game even more than God of War Ragnarök, but suggested “holding fire if you’re looking at the PC version.”
I will say, I’m genuinely surprised by some of the review scores but I guess my tastes don’t align with the norm. I loved God of War, for instance….but I enjoyed this a lot more. Seriously.
— John Linneman (@dark1x) December 2, 2022
***
In 2019, Glen Schofield, known as the co-founder of Sledgehammer Games and one of the creators of the Dead Space series, joined Krafton. He became the CEO of the South Korean publisher’s new in-house studio Striking Distance.
The Callisto Protocol was announced later that year as a new title in the PUBG universe. It eventually disassociated itself from this brand and turned into a standalone horror game.