UPDATE: Surgent Studios has issued an official statement confirming its layoffs, which have impacted over a dozen people at the studio. “It’s a difficult time in the games industry, but we remain incredibly proud of our team’s work on Zau and the praise it has received from critics and players alike,” the developer says.
— Surgent Studios | ZAU OUT NOW (@surgentstudios) July 2, 2024
Original story follows:
Surgent Studio, an independent development team led by actor Abubakar Salim, has been hit with layoffs. As reported by Game Developer, though the studio itself has yet to make an official announcement regarding the same, several of its former employees have confirmed on social media that they were let go.
That includes technical artist Jordan Smee and level designer Pete Brisbourne on LinkedIn, and a producer going by Raysura on Bluesky. The full extent of the layoffs is unconfirmed, but clearly, multiple at the studio have been impacted.
Surgent Studios released its debut title, Tales of Kenzera: Zau, earlier this year. The Metroidvania action-adventure title, which was published by EA, was met with mostly positive reviews, though there’s been no word on how the game has sold.
In our review of the game, we gave the game a score of 7/10, saying, “Tales of Kenzera: Zau delivers a genuinely touching and heartfelt story in a rich and mystical world, even if it lets itself down with its combat, platforming, and design.” Read the full review through here.
Tales of Kenzera: Zau is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
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