PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.

Can Your PC Run The Callisto Protocol?

Dead Space lives again when The Callisto Protocol launches on Dec. 2. Can your PC handle this survival horror spiritual successor?

 & Jordan Minor Principal Writer, Software

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

Our Expert
LOOK INSIDE PC LABS HOW WE TEST
65 EXPERTS
43 YEARS
41,500+ REVIEWS

Outer space is scary, a fact that an alarming number of upcoming sci-fi horror video games are eager to remind us about. Whether it’s getting murdered by alien monsters or suffocated from lack of oxygen on a haunted moon prison, The Callisto Protocol offers a next-generation take on intergalactic gore. First, can you handle this game? If so, can your PC?


Callisto Protocol

Why the Callisto Protocol Hype?

The Callisto Protocol was initially unveiled as a distant single-player spin-off for the massively popular battle royale game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. The games may even take place in the same universe, though the connections seem to be fairly inconspicuous.  

However, the game that Callisto Protocol really wants you to remember is Dead Space. Callisto’s director Glen Schofield is most famous for those EA survival-horror shooters, and Callisto Protocol very much looks like a spiritual successor with its gnarly monsters and rusty space station atmosphere. It’s been nearly a decade since the last Dead Space game, but now EA is also about to release its own official Dead Space remake in January. Still, who doesn’t want options?


Where Can I Buy The Callisto Protocol?

On PC, you can buy The Callisto Protocol on Steam, as well as the Epic Games Store, for $59.99 starting Dec. 2. The $79.99 deluxe edition includes a season pass, which promises new skins, new modes, and upcoming story DLC. The Callisto Protocol is also available on all current PlayStation and Xbox consoles. 


Callisto Protocol

The Callisto Protocol Minimum System Requirements

  • OS: Windows 10/11
  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 or Intel Core i5-8400
  • Memory: 8GB of RAM
  • GPU: AMD Radeon RX 580 or Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Available Storage: 75GB 

Callisto Protocol

The Callisto Protocol Recommended System Requirements

  • OS: Windows 10/11
  • CPUCPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or Intel Core i7-8700
  • MemoryMemory: 16GB of RAM
  • GPUGPU: AMD Radeon RX 5700 or Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070
  • DirectX: Version 12
  • Available Storage: 75GB SSD

How Can You Play The Callisto Protocol?

The Callisto Protocol features full controller support, as well as compatibility with mouse and keyboard for precision alien dismemberment. There's no word on Steam Deck compatibility, but the game uses the infamous Denuvo DRM.


Visit PCMag on Steam

If you liked this The Callisto Protocol spec breakdown, and would like to see more PC gaming coverage, please join the PCMag Steam Curator page. There, you'll find links to every Steam game we've reviewed, as well as in-depth previews of upcoming Steam titles.

For more in-depth video game talk, visit PCMag's Pop-Off YouTube channel.

About Our Expert

Jordan Minor

Jordan Minor

Principal Writer, Software

My PCMag career began in 2013 as an intern. Now, I'm a senior writer, using the skills I acquired at Northwestern University to write about dating apps, meal kits, programming software, website builders, video streaming services, and video games. I was previously a senior editor at Geek.com and have written for The A.V. Club, Kotaku, and Paste Magazine. I'm the author of the gaming history book Video Game of the Year: A Year-by-Year Guide to the Best, Boldest, and Most Bizarre Games from Every Year Since 1977, and the reason everything you know about Street Sharks is a lie.

The Technology I Use

I use the newest Android and iOS smartphones for testing, but I currently use an iPhone 14 as my personal phone. I just hate that we gave up headphone jacks.

I've always favored gaming laptops over desktops. On that note, I have a 16-inch HP Envy with an Intel Core i9-13900H CPU and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU. No matter what machine I’m working on, an alarming amount of my personal and professional life revolves around cloud-synced Google Drive files.

For food subscriptions, my household sticks with CookUnity and HelloFresh for meals. Video streaming is a bit more complicated. While there are too many services to list, we're subscribed to most of the major ones. These days, I find myself drawn to HBO Max's movies and shows, as well as Peacock's reality trash.

I've been a lifelong Nintendo fan, and I sincerely believe the Nintendo Switch will go down as one of the best gaming consoles of all time. It has an unbelievable library of new and old games from Nintendo and third-party companies. The handheld/console hybrid approach makes playing games so much more flexible, a legacy that continues with the Nintendo Switch 2 and Valve’s Steam Deck.

Read full bio