The Callisto Protocol Adds Hardcore Difficulty Mode

A Hardcore difficulty mode has been added to The Callisto Protocol in a new, free update. The mode further limits ammo and health drops, reduces the value of contraband, and makes enemies more powerful.

Additionally, the first of four scheduled DLCs, which are included in The Callisto Protocol's season pass, has also dropped. The Outer Way Skin collection adds Outer-Way-themed skins to the game.

Other upcoming DLC include The Contagion Bundle, which releases in March, as well as the Riot Bundle, for later in the spring. These packs will add new games modes, as well as other, unannounced content. The final DLC will add new story content in Summer 2023. Other recent updates added new game plus and ray-traced reflections on Xbox Series X.

The Callisto Protocol is something of a spiritual successor to Dead Space, a sci-fi horror action game with grisly zombies. Protagonist Jacob Lee is wrongfully imprisoned in a jail on Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, just as a mysterious contagion (i.e. space zombies) infects the prison. In GameSpot's The Callisto Protocol review, reviewer Jordan Ramée gave it a 5/10 and said, "Some genuine horror might have improved the experience of this survival-action game, but The Callisto Protocol instead leans too far into absurd high-octane spectacle, dampening the tension and adulterating the narrative core of the experience."