That super scary horror game from The Game Awards? Yeah, it’s apparently set in the PUBG universe

I guess they’re both about survival

The Game Awards was an exhausting marathon blur of game reveals, ads, and the occasional award. After nearly four hours blogging, I logged off thinking that only one new game actually made an impression on me: The Callisto Protocol. 

The Callisto Protocol is described as a “single-player, third-person, story-driven, survival horror game.” It has Dead Space DNA as the developer’s CEO and founder, Glen Schofield, used to work on EA’s renowned horror franchise. The cinematic trailer is simply stunning. It’s extremely early and we haven’t seen anything in-engine or actual gameplay, but all the pieces look in place thus far.

There’s a weird and ill-fitting piece in the mix, though. IGN interviewed Schofield following the announcement, and he confirmed that The Callisto Protocol takes place within the PUBG universe. The tactical shooter battle royale will have a monster-focused horror game that’s set in space as part of its official lore.

The business-oriented answer to this riddle is that Callisto Protocol developer Striking Distance is part of the Krafton publishing group who also owns PUBG Corp. Krafton seemingly wants its games tied together, all grouped up under a tidy umbrella. Schofield says “The funny thing is, I came in with this story when I went and met with the PUBG people for the first time and started talking about [The Callisto Protocol] and building a studio. I presented this game to them, and so what we did was we made it fit within the PUBG storyline.”

But, to be clear, The Callisto Protocol is set 300 years after PUBG; takes place in a prison in space; is all about monsters; and is definitely a true third-person horror game. The actual connection to PUBG seems tenuous at best. Taking all that into consideration, the only real question on everyone’s mind is: Why?

The Callisto Protocol Wants to be The Scariest Next-Gen Horror Game Ever [IGN]