The Callisto Protocol is an upcoming sci-fi survival horror game, developed by brand-new studio Striking Distance. The studio is headed up by Glen Schofield, who previously co-created the Dead Space series. However, probably the most unexpected thing about The Callisto Protocol is that it will be set in the universe of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, albeit 300 years into the future.

From everything we know about The Callisto Protocol so far, it would be hard to imagine a game more different to PUBG. The Callisto Protocol will be single-player, horror-focused, and set in the year 2320. Conversely, PUBG is the multiplayer title that kickstarted the Battle Royale genre's popularity, and is set in the modern day. However, it's already been confirmed that the two games share a universe, so how exactly might they connect?

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PUBG Lore

Players could be forgiven for thinking that PUBG was a game without a story. After all, for its first three Seasons, it didn't really have one. It was only with the launch of Season 4 that the game received its first story trailer, revealing the backstory of the original Erangel map.

It's noteworthy that for a 3 year old game, there isn't that much more information out there about PUBG's story than there is for the unreleased Callisto Protocol. All we know for certain about Striking Distance's new title is that it's set in a prison colony called Black Iron on Jupiter's moon Callisto. Players will take on the role of a prisoner caught up in the middle of an alien invasion that seems to have been planned by the prison's warden. For how this could relate to PUBG, we have to take a look at the Battle Royale's most recent releases.

callisto protocol pubg universe

Mysteries Unknown

One of the biggest leaps forward for PUBG's story occurred in October 2020. It all began with a mysterious video posted on the official PUBG twitter account, along with a brand-new website dedicated to the game's lore. The video related to the secrets and rumors surrounding Paramo Plateau, PUBG's sixth map. Before the release of the video, nine PUBG streamers were sent packages containing fragments of the so-called Paramo Stone. Unfortunately, many of these stones ended up stuck in customs as the streamers attempted to reassemble them, and the complete stone was never deciphered.

However, both the stone and the mysterious video led players into an AR game that revealed more glimpses of the occult lore behind Paramo. Most notable, when connecting the PUBG lore to that of The Callisto Protocol, were the hints that Paramo was in some way related to the legend of the Fountain of Youth. These snippets of lore were intertwined with Lovecraftian warnings of madness, mystery, and an ancient goddess.

The last of these is also noteworthy, as the survival-horror game The Callisto Protocol is named for its setting, one of the moons of Jupiter, which is in turn named after a Nymph in Greek/Roman Mythology. In Roman mythology Callisto is seduced by Jupiter, and later punished by his wife Juno by being transformed into a bear.

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Immortality and Transformation

The most interesting parts of the current PUBG lore that may relate to The Callisto Protocol all revolve around Paramo. The plateau is clearly steeped in mystery and occultism, and the biggest themes running through its history and design are immortality and transformation. These are both popular themes in sci-fi titles, and it could very well be that they form the link that ties PUBG to The Callisto Protocol.

An even more popular sci-fi theme is that of ancient aliens. This is the idea that humanity was visited or affected at some point in its distant past by an alien species. As a story device this concept shows up in everything from Mass Effect to Dead Space. The seemingly supernatural events occurring at the Paramo Plateau might actually turn out to be the actions of an alien race, the same race that will later return in The Callisto Protocol.

The Callisto Protocol will launch in 2022 for PC and unspecified consoles.

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