The Callisto Protocol fails to recoup its $160 million budget, misses sales target

It looks like The Callisto Protocol didn’t live up to publisher Krafton’s expectations. This led market analysts lowering sales projections and share price targets.

Several investors, including Samsung Securities, Shinhan Securities, and Korea Investment & Securities, have lowered their target stock prices, according to Korean website K-ODYSSEY.

The Callisto Protocol reportedly cost around ₩200 billion ($161.5 million) to make over three years — not to mention the marketing costs. And the game’s developer Striking Distance has failed to recoup the budget so far.

According to Samsung Securities, Krafton expected The Callisto Protocol to sell 5 million units globally. However, it is unlikely to hit this target this year.

Taking the game’s current performance into account, Korea Investment & Securities lowered its sales projections from 4 million to 2.1 million units and lowered Krafton’s estimated operating profit for the entire fiscal year from ₩813 billion ($656.3 million) to ₩629.3 billion ($508 million).

Krafton has given around ₩196 billion ($158.2 million) to its subsidiary Striking Distance since 2020, including ₩113.6 billion ($91.7 million) from January to September 2022. So the company made a big bet on the game, which now has a chance to fail commercially.

The Korean publisher saw its share plunge 8% on December 2, from ₩220k ($177) to ₩201.5k ($162) per share. This was largely due to poor reception of The Callisto Protocol. The game currently has an average score of 68-69 on Metacritic and a 61% rating on Steam, which indicates mixed reviews from players.

Krafton stock has fallen even further since then. It is currently trading at ₩175.5k ($141.6) per share — down 20% from December 1, the day before the release of The Callisto Protocol.