ZA/UM Studios to lay off up to 32 workers two months after releasing Zero Parades: For Dead Spies

ZA/UM Studio, the developer behind the acclaimed detective RPG Disco Elysium, has announced the layoff of up to 32 employees across all departments. The announcement came just two months after the release of Zero Parades: For Dead Spies, the studio’s follow-up title. Despite receiving critical acclaim, the game’s commercial performance has been insufficient to sustain the studio’s current size, prompting the redundancy action.

In a statement posted on social media, ZA/UM acknowledged that while Zero Parades was “released to critical acclaim, its commercial performance has not enabled us to sustain a studio of our current size.” The studio described the affected employees’ contributions as having “made a lasting difference” and “left its mark” on the game and the studio overall.

The company stated that it has been consulting with employee representatives throughout the layoff process. ZA/UM also made an appeal on social media for other developers to consider hiring the impacted workers, recognizing the quality of their work and contribution to the studio’s projects.

This layoff reflects broader challenges within the gaming industry where commercial success is increasingly difficult to achieve, even for games that secure strong critical reception. The timing—just two months after launch—suggests the studio made a quick assessment of the game’s market performance before making difficult staffing decisions.

ZA/UM Studios to lay off up to 32 workers two months after releasing Zero Parades: For Dead Spies

Sources