Epic Games Store has officially revealed its December 24 mystery game, confirming that The Callisto Protocol will be available to claim for free for a limited time. The survival horror title will be accessible at no cost for 24 hours once the promotion goes live, continuing Epic ongoing holiday giveaway campaign.
The Callisto Protocol is featured as Mystery Game 8 out of 17 in the promotion. While this is not the first time the game has been offered for free on a digital storefront, its inclusion still stands out due to its scale and genre appeal, particularly for players who enjoyed the Dead Space series. The giveaway provides another opportunity for users who may have missed it previously to add the game to their libraries permanently.
Set 300 years in the future, The Callisto Protocol is a narrative-driven, third-person survival horror game. Players take on the role of Jacob Lee, who finds himself imprisoned in Black Iron Prison, a maximum security facility located on Jupiter moon Callisto. When a mysterious outbreak causes inmates to transform into hostile creatures, the prison descends into chaos. Survival requires navigating the crumbling facility while uncovering unsettling secrets buried beneath the surface of Callisto.
The game places a strong emphasis on atmosphere, tension, and close-quarters combat. Players must master a mix of hand-to-hand and ranged combat systems, including the use of a gravity-based weapon originally designed for prison control. Encounters are deliberately brutal, encouraging players to dismember enemies and adapt creatively to survive each confrontation. The setting further reinforces isolation, with Callisto portrayed as a hostile and unforgiving environment that mirrors the psychological pressure placed on the protagonist.
The Callisto Protocol follows a recent sequence of mystery game reveals. It comes after Bloodstained, which followed Paradise Killer on December 22, and Sorry We’re Closed on December 21. Earlier titles in the promotion included Hogwarts Legacy, Jotunnslayer Hordes of Hel, Eternights, and Blood West. This release order reflects Epic Games Store’s continued strategy of alternating between high-profile releases and smaller or more experimental titles, keeping the daily reveals unpredictable.
