Dead Space Creator Glen Schofield: 'Maybe I've Directed My Last Game' - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 28 July 2025 / 1,744 Views
Glen Schofield, best known as the creator of Dead Space and The Callisto Protocol, discussed the difficulty in the video game industry in a post on LinkedIn.
"Over the past eight months, I’ve been quietly working with my daughter, Nicole, on a new game idea," said Schofield. "She came to me with it, and I immediately loved the idea. Something I hadn’t seen before. We’ve been calling it a new sub-genre of horror—not just horror, but something more.
"Some of you know this already, but I named Isaac’s girlfriend in Dead Space after Nicole. She’s been making games for around eight years now. Besides being a great artist, she’s got real ideas. And she’s been playing games since she could wrap her hands around a controller.
"We pulled the budget down to $17 million, built a prototype with a small, talented crew, and started taking meetings. People loved the concept. We got a lot of 2nd and 3rd meetings. But early feedback was 'get it to $10M.' Lately, that number’s dropped to $2–5M.
"So last month, we decided to walk away. Some ideas are better left untouched than done cheap. We had a team of six here in the States and a full crew in the UK. Now, everyone’s looking for work. They’re all talented folks—if you’re hiring, let me know."
Schofield said he has worked on games with just him and one other up to over 300 developers. With the industry struggling he says AAA development feels a long ways off. It feels like he may have directed his last game with The Callisto Protocol.
"As for me—I’ve worked on games of every size," he continued. "From 2 of us to over 300 devs. Spent the last 15–20 years making big AAA titles with great teams. That’s what I do. That’s what I love. But with the industry on pause, AAA feels like it’s a long ways away.
"So I’m back to my art. I miss it all; the team, the chaos, the joy of building something for fans. I’m still around, making art, writing stories and ideas and still cheering the industry on. But maybe I’ve directed my last game. Who knows? If so thank you playing my games.
"And Nicole—well, she got laid off from Striking Distance Studios, a studio I founded and a CEO I put in place. She’s one of the strongest artists I know. She built some of our best levels on Callisto Protocol. She plays everything. She’s got the talent. Somebody’s gonna be lucky to have her. If you know of anything, please reach out."
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
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He sounds like a very supportive parent.
I appreciate getting that real take from someone in the industry.
Even when we’ve known a lot about the state of making video games over the past five years, it’s helpful to get someone communicate about it.
So much is wrapped up in secretive corporate speak.
I hope he continues to make games. Dead Space is amazing and I thought The Callisto Protocol was pretty decent.
I was getting excited till the cancel it part.. i enjoyed my time with callisto, not a dull moment. Sux for another idea to be washed away
That sucks to hear. I actually really enjoyed the Callisto Protocol, and it's ripe for an upgrade if a sequel was ever made.
Granted, Schofield also seemed tobe willing to normalise overtime work on games...
It's sad that publishers won't even take a $17m chance (which is the low end of the AA budget spectrum) on a game by a veteran developer responsible for the AAA Dead Space series, instead they want him to make it for less than $5m, which is purely in single A budget territory. The gaming industry honestly seems utterly f*cked if things continue like this.
What if they changed how its visually presented. We don't get enough cell shaded titles. Everyone is trying to go for photo realism. I wonder how much can be saved with a different art style and story telling approach .
There's also the indie approachm i'd love to Glen work on smaller games while showcasing new ideas. Even if only lasts 2/3 hrs
