The Callisto Protocol: game release date on Xbox and PS5, is it connected to Dead Space, and Josh Duhamel

As we near the end of 2023, most of the year’s biggest games are now behind us. But the calendar does still have few exciting-looking releases in store before we find ourselves counting down to 2023.

One of those is The Callisto Protocol, an atmospheric sci-fi horror that looks sure to have you cowering behind your controller as you slowly explore a Jovian prison overrun with unspeakable terrors.

But what exactly can you expect from the game, and when will you be able to get your hands on it? Here is everything you need to know about it.

What is The Callisto Protocol?

The Callistor Protocol is an upcoming survival horror video game, which at first glance, certainly features some striking similarities to the Dead Space series of games.

The Callisto Protocol is thematically resemblant of EA’s space-horror trilogy, with players finding themselves trapped among the claustrophobic setting of a space-faring installation overrun with mysterious threats.

Gameplay wise too, both games look to play very similar, with both featuring an over-the-shoulder, third-person camera perspective following a slow-moving protagonist who must use tool-like weapons to dispatch his foes.

Then there are each gun’s ammo counts, projected holographically and diegetically into the real world - as opposed to being layered on screen as part of an artificial HUD - to ramp up the immersion.

But Callisto Protocol’s similarities to Dead Space make much more sense when you consider that the newer game’s director is Glen Schofield, who previously co-created the Dead Space series.

Callisto Protocol is not a Dead Space sequel, and has no direct links to those games other than the personnel working behind the scenes.

Among those also working on the game include Steve Papoutsis, who co-developed and oversaw the Dead Space series after Schofield’s departure; Scott Whitney, a designer on the Dead Space series; and Christopher Stone, the animation director for the former series.

That said, the term “spiritual successor” is one that’s being bandied about, and if you liked Isacc Clarke’s fight against mutated, undead horrors, you’ll likely be just as enamoured with The Callisto Protocol.

What is the story?

When the game was first revealed, publisher Krafton marketed it as part of an expanding universe that tied into its flagship game, PlayerUnknown’s Battleground’s (PUBG).

That game is a modern-day battle royale shooter, one that helped give rise to the sub-genre of video gaming that spawned such successes as Fortnite. It’s since been vastly eclipsed in popularity by Fornite, and a science fiction space horror game that looped back into a modern-day battle royale shooter was always going to be a reach.

Thankfully, plans for a tie-in narrative were abandoned, and in May 2022, it was announced that the game’s lore is now situated in its own fictional universe with its own narrative.

The Callisto Protocol takes place in 2320 at Black Iron, a prison colony run by the United Jupiter Company on Jupiter’s moon Callisto. The player assumes the role of Jacob Lee (voiced by American actor Josh Duhamel), a prisoner incarcerated at Black Iron who finds himself in the midst of an alien invasion that appears to have been orchestrated by the prison’s warden.

Director Glen Schofield wanted to keep the game as realistic as possible, therefore he chose a possibly human-coloniseable world like Callisto - the moon is thought to harbour a deep ocean of water - as the setting.

When can I play it?

The Callisto Protocol will be released on Friday 2 December. It will be available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.