The Callisto Protocol – Everything You Need to Know About the Dead Space-Inspired Horror Game

Callisto Protocol Delay

December is almost here, and so is The Callisto Protocol. The upcoming title from developer Striking Distance Studios and Glen Schofield (co-creator of the Dead Space series) is set to release in early December, so let’s have a quick rundown of what we know about the game and its features.

The game was originally announced back in December 2020 at The Game Awards, as were other titles. A red-band trailer released shortly thereafter gave more of an extended look at the game’s world and characters. Ever since then, we got a lot of information regarding the game's setting and gameplay mechanics, which we'll comb through with this article.

Pricing, release date, and platforms

The game will release on December 2nd, 2022, for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. Pre-orders are available now for The Callisto Protocol, and you can order one of three versions: the Day One Edition, the Deluxe Edition, and the Collector’s Edition (not available for PC). The Day One Edition has the game, the Retro Prisoner character skin, and two Retro Prisoner weapon skins for $59.99 on PC or $69.99 on consoles.

For an additional $20, The Callisto Protocol’s Deluxe Edition has the following features:

The Callisto Protocol main game
The Retro Prisoner character skin
two Retro Prisoner weapon skins
The game’s Season Pass

Meanwhile, the game’s Collector’s Edition (only available through GameStop) costs $249.99 and includes the following:

The Callisto Protocol main game
The Retro Prisoner character skin
two Retro Prisoner weapon skins
The game’s Season Pass
a statue of Jacob, the game’s main character
Steelbook Case
TCP Comic #0 Edition
an Outer Way Collectable Pin
a UJC Collectible Pin
48-hour Advanced Access to Story DLC (exclusive to PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4)

The PC version is not eligible for the Collector’s Edition, so they’ll have to ignore it. Xbox Game Pass users are, unfortunately, going to have to purchase the game like everyone else. Striking Distance Studios has definitely thought about including it in the massively popular program, but the model doesn’t seem feasible for single-player games from independent studios in their eyes.

PC System Requirements

The PC version requirements are important for the game. To even run The Callisto Protocol, you need to meet these specifications:

A 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10/11
Processor: Intel Core i5-7500 / AMD Ryzen 3 1200 4 Cores
Memory: 8 GB RAM
DirectX: Version 11

Meanwhile, the recommended requirements for The Callisto Protocol are as follows:

Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10/11
Processor: AMD Athlon 5350 (6 Available Cores)
Memory: 8 GB RAM
DirectX: Version 12

PC Features

Next up, AMD’s Fidelity FX Super Resolution (or FSR for short) 2.0 was confirmed to be included in The Callisto Protocol, among other games like Hitman III, Grounded, Forspoken, and Microsoft Flight Simulator, to name a few.

On the topic of AMD, back at the start of August, The Callisto Protocol was revealed to be an official partner for AMD hardware. Essentially, it’s very likely that NVIDIA DLSS will not be in The Callisto Protocol at launch, at least. Whether it will be added later is currently unknown, but we’ll update if it does.

Finally, within the last few weeks, The Callisto Protocol’s PC version has had ray tracing confirmed for the game (as well as including some Unreal 5 elements), as well as a year’s worth of updates coming. This leads to just last week when a brand-new trailer debuted that discussed the secrets of Black Iron Prison.

Story and Setting

A few months ago, The Callisto Protocol was officially cut away from its original setting (inside the PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds universe), severing any and all connectivity to that game’s continuity. Black Iron Prison is now contained within its own universe, and protagonist Jacob Lee (played by Josh Duhamel) is on a mission to escape and survive.

While exploring, Jacob will encounter various deadly creatures that he’ll have to fight off or run away from. Black Iron also is home to various traps or cinematics that can immediately kill Jacob if the player isn’t paying attention, requiring the player to stay alert at all times. Throughout the prison, he’ll come across Dani Nakamura (played by Karen Fukuhara), leader of a resistance group, and Leon, the Captain of the Prison Guard, played by Sam Witwer.

A gameplay reveal followed soon thereafter at Sony’s June 2022 State Of Play, which showcased Jacob exploring Black Iron Prison, along with the game’s highly-detailed violence and gore. The game is going to follow in Dead Space's steps by showing visceral and brutal death scenes in which the protagonist can die due to environmental hazards or be executed by the game's monsters.

Gameplay Mechanics

September 2022 rolls around at this point, and by now, Striking Distance Studios finally explained some of the core intricacies of the combat system in The Callisto Protocol. It’s a mixture of ranged and melee combat powered by the GRP (or “Grip”) mechanic. Enemies need to be taken down efficiently and accurately in order to not get into too much trouble.

If left unchecked, enemies will begin to experience Mutations. These Mutations will make them far deadlier, more powerful, and generally harder to kill. If that seems unsettling, just imagine it when you’re dealing with a room full of Mutated creatures. Quick-time events in various cinematics will also be present, and missing any of them will result in death, as to be expected.