Striking Distance Studios is under fire for failing to credit the developers for The Callisto Protocol. Now, IGN’s own reports corroborate reports that codenames were left out of the game’s credits, and IGN has heard that problems with credits in games directed by Glen Schofield go back further than The Callisto Protocol.
In a gamesindustry.biz report last week, sources told the publication that approximately 20 developers were omitted from the credits for The Callisto Protocol. IGN has spoken with two former employees of Striking Distance Studioswho worked at the company during the development of The Callisto Protocol, and has confirmed the details of the report.
One of the employees we spoke to was credited, despite having worked with the company for less than a year of The Callisto Protocol’s development time. However, he told IGN that “some key people were not added” to the credits.
“I can tell that two people were not added to the credits,” the developer tells IGN. “I have a feeling one of them was due to drama within the department itself and that’s why they weren’t added. But the other one, I’m surprised because he worked on some key elements and had started to come up with design features that are in the market today.” game, but it’s not in the credits at all.”
This former employee suggested that blame could lie with department heads, rather than at the top of Striking Distance Studios, like CEO Glen Schofield. This source claims that senior officials do not know everyone who came in and out of Striking Distance Studios due to the high volume of turnover during The Callisto Protocol’s development.
However, our second source places some of the blame on Schofield. This former employee says that he worked at Striking Distance Studios for over a year and was left out of The Callisto Protocol credits.
“It’s horrible to be left out of the credits for these games. It’s hard to describe how bad it feels, because it can’t be fixed. These discs are out there in the world, and there’s no server patch that can make it happen.” all the time and effort I’ve put in is suddenly recognized. It may be a simple oversight or lack of follow through, but I think it’s emblematic of their overall stance towards their employees – just an afterthought.”
This source also has experience working with Schofield at the director’s former studio, Sledgehammer Games. According to this developer, credits issues date back to the last few games Schofield directed before The Callisto Protocol. Namely, a trio of Call of Duty titles: Modern Warfare 3, Advanced Warfare, and WWII.
“I worked for Glen Schofield for [varios] years at Sledgehammer Games and heard similar rumors about people being left out of the Modern Warfare 3 credits… From my own experience, I can definitely verify that people were left out of the credits of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare“.
According to this source, the narrative producer of Advanced Warfare “received explicit orders from Glen and Michael Condrey [de Sledgehammer] about the content of the credits.
This source claims that his biggest personal slight was for Call of Duty: WWII.
“I worked almost two full years on Call of Duty: WWII and left me out of creditssimply because I left the studio before the game came out, even though I had worked like hell for that company and on that game.”
Striking Distance Studios has already received criticism for Schofield’s comments on a possible crunch culture at the company. In a since-deleted tweet, Schofield wrote: “We are working 6-7 days a week, nobody forces us. Exhausted, tired, with Covid but we are working. Bugs, glitches, optimizing. One last pass through the audio. 12 days “15 hours. This is playing. I work hard. Lunch, dinner working. Do it because you like it.”
Schofield continued to apologize for having put his team in trouble, saying: “in the end I screwed up and we worked more than we should have. It got out of hand.”
The former employee, with experience at both Striking Distance Studios and Sledgehammer, told IGN that this work on games directed by Schofield dates back to the days of Call of Duty.
“People were 100% rewarded simply for working all day, every day, including weekends, and it was heartily encouraged. This problem was compounded by the discretionary bonuses we all went after. There was no telling how that was going to happen. the bonuses would decide… So people were burned to the bonze so that, with any luck, they would be considered to be providing the kind of service that the heads of the studio were looking for.”
IGN has reached out to Striking Distance Studios for comment, but has not received a response as of yet.
