The Callisto Protocolmight be Glen Schofield’s last game, as he is openly toying with the idea of retiring after a storied 34-year career, spanning from his work on Barbie: Game Girl in 1991 to the creation of the iconic survival horror seriesDead Space.
“Game industry,it’s tough out there,” Schofield wrote onLinkedIn(as reported byVGC). “Over the past eight months, I’ve been quietly working with my daughter, Nicole, 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.”
Afterthe middling reception to The Callisto Protocol, which also underperformed in sales, Schofield left Striking Distance in 2023.
Schofield and a small crew built a prototype and set the budget at $17 million before talking to potential backers, and “People loved the concept”. However, he was told to lower the budget to just $10 million, a number that only continued to plummet until it reached as low as $2-5 million.
“Last month, we decided to walk away,” he explained. “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.”
“Thank You For Playing My Games”
He ended the post by saying that he thinks triple-A development is “a long way away” for him, and that it’s time for him to move on and get back to writing and making art, hinting that he might’ve directed his last game. However, he still left the door open for future work, if he should ever change his mind.
“I miss it all - the team, the chaos, the joy of building something for fans,” Schofield said. “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.”
The comments were flooded with support, and some devs even reached out to invite Schofield for a chat about their work, like CerebralFix co-CEO Chelsea Rapp. “We’re a mid-size studio working on an original title that includes some folks you might know from your Dead Space days,” she said. “Without saying too much - I’d love to chat about collaborating.” Schofield replied that he’d be down to talk over a Zoom call at the very least.
It’s rough waters right now, but I’ll be honest in saying that deciding to stop will be a choice for you, not a predicament you’re forced into. I know you have more in you, and Nicole is just getting started —Cold Iron Studios design director Larry Charles Jr.
Even if it doesn’t pan out, with so much support, maybe his game development days aren’t over just yet. But for now, it looks like Schofield is ready to move on.
