Tales of Kenzera: ZAU developer confirms layoffs less than a year after release

Gabriel Stanford-Reisinger

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU developer, Surgent Studios, has joined the growing number of studios that have faced waves of layoffs. The layoffs affected “just over a dozen” people.

ZAU was Surgent’s debut game published under Electronic Arts. After releasing the game earlier this year to middling fanfare but strong critical reception, it’s clear the game probably didn’t sell as hot as the studio hoped. While initial reports of the layoffs happened due to former employees speaking out about seeking employment (via Game Developer), the studio has since addressed the layoffs on social media.

ZAU plays as a Metroidvania and got very divided reception, with plenty of people liking the game, but others finding its story boring and traversal sluggish. The studio seems to remain committed on working on ZAU. It should be noted that it’s not clear how well the game has sold nor what EA and Surgent were expecting out of it.

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

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Gabe has been a gamer since he was young, playing games like Pajama Sam, Freddi Fish, Guitar Hero, and whatever looked cool on GameFly. Ever since 2018, he's been infatuated with the inner workings of the gaming and entertainment industries, covering a wide range of topics from video games to TV and film. Starting as a contributor for PSX Extreme, he's worked his way up to its Managing Editor. Using what's he learned over the years, he founded Smash Jump to remind everyone to smash jump.