The Callisto Protocol Developer Dismisses Xbox Game Pass
In (dead) space, no one can hear you scream. While the legacy of Visceral Games' Dead Space is almost unsurpassed in the growing genre of sci-fi horror, a newcomer is clawing at its heels in the form of its spiritual successor, The Callisto Protocol.
If you've ever played Dead Space, you'll know The Callisto Protocol is a similar sort of story. Instead of being Isaac Clarke trying to rescue the crew of the USG Ishimura, you play prisoner Jacob Lee marooned on the prison colony of Black Iron. You didn't need to know that Dead Space co-creator Glen Schofield worked on both to see the comparisons.
Is The Callisto Protocol On Game Pass?
Click to enlargeDesigned as one of the growing number of games geared toward new-gen consoles, The Callisto Protocol hopes to make the most of the grunt that the PS5 and Xbox Series are packing. As the console wars heat up and more games are engulfed by Microsoft overlord Phil Spencer, there have been questions over whether The Callisto Protocol is coming to Game Pass.
Speaking to True Achievements, Chief Technology Officer Mark James dissed Game Pass and went on to describe the model as "difficult." Although The Callisto Protocol team might "think about it" for Game Pass, we wouldn't count on it. James continued: "You play through once [in The Callisto Protocol]. I think those services are built towards some of the open-world style and repetitive multiplayer games. I think games [like that] survive well on that service."
According to James, Games Pass doesn't always fit for independent studios that release single-player games. Well, at least in financial terms. He goes on to remind us that there are single-player games on Game Pass or coming to it - we're looking at you Starfield - but he thinks they'll come from the hardware companies themselves.
When Does The Callisto Protocol Release?
It's not that Sony's God of War Ragnarok would get a Day One release on PlayStation Plus, but the implication is that the gaming giants behind the services are the ones (obviously) holding the cards here. It's no big deal that The Callisto Protocol isn't coming to Game Pass, because remember, it's releasing on Xbox the same day as PlayStation. Then again, remember PlayStation owners get some added extras with The Callisto Protocol.
The Callisto Protocol is one of the few games in 2022 that hasn't been delayed. Also going for the horror title, it has dropped its weird connections to PUBG. We don't know how the battle royale giant would've fitted into this narrative, and to be honest, it was a bit weird that The Callisto Protocol was supposed to be part of the same universe. Schofield has shared his ambitions to "make the scariest game on next-gen platforms," and from what we've seen, it's well on the way to getting there.
