The Callisto Protocol Leak Gives Fans A Look At The Game's First 13 Minutes

Sci-fi horror game "The Callisto Protocol" is due to release in less than ten days, and the fact that it's being developed by the creators of the original "Dead Space" has spurred a lot of hype behind the game — especially when a "Dead Space" remake is set to launch a few months later. Just from trailers and other official footage alone, the game generated quite a following. But fans got an even closer look at what to expect as leaked footage uploaded early November 23, 2022 showed the opening 13 minutes of "The Callisto Protocol."

Though the leak has since been taken down — and publisher Krafton has been busy taking down other copies all day — fans still got a look at the game. It wasn't exactly the highest-quality video ever uploaded. Some fans described it as "potato quality" as it seemed to be filmed with a hand camera in 140p resolution. Even this grainy, low-quality footage revealed much that fans haven't figured out yet, like the story's foundations and, ironically, the impressive visuals of "The Callisto Protocol."

Spoilers ahead for the introductory sequence of "The Callisto Protocol"

Thanks to publications and users who were able to watch it before being taken down, we can get a good idea of what "The Callisto Protocol" leaks reveal without having to scour for the video itself — though there are some sites where it is still available if fans know where to look. 

The video starts with the menu screen and sharply transitions into the opening cutscene, which shows the aftermath of a massacre on Europa committed by the "notorious Dani Nakamura." The cutscene zooms out to reveal the viewer has been watching a news report, and further zooms out to show two pilots — Max and player character Jacob Lee — in the command of the UJC Charon. It's en-route to the prison moon Europa, and after the two discuss the attacks, players take control of Jacob and are put to work repairing the ship. 

It's during this sequence that the UJC Charon is attacked by Nakamura, and after the ensuing fight the ship crashes to the prison moon, taking out most of the attackers and Max with it — along with half of his face, an example of the game's visceral gore that ended up getting it cancelled in Japan. Security guards from Black Iron Prison arrive and take the relatively unharmed Jacob and Nakamura back to the complex, mistaking Jacob as a member of her terrorist group. And that's where the leaked footage ends. After this, Jacob's life as an inmate, and the rest of "The Callisto Protocol," begins.