Surgent Studios, the creators of the game Tales of Kenzera: Zau, have reportedly put their entire game division on hiatus after announcing the choice to do this in a statement on X. They have asked for help to find collaborative partners, as they haven’t yet secured funding for their next project. As a result, they’ve put the team on notice for redundancy. It doesn’t specify whether that is the entire team or just part of it, but this isn’t the first layoff experience for Surgent Studios, either. Shortly after Tales of Kenzera: ZAU was released, Surgent Studios laid off “just over a dozen people” in June, which was three months after the release of Tales of Kenzera: ZAU.
Surgent Studios first appeared on the map in 2020 after announcing themselves as Silver Rain Studios before eventually re-branding. The company was founded by Assassin’s Creed Origins and House of the Dragon actor Abubukar Salim. The company not only dabbles in games but has also worked in movies and TV shows, with a focus on bringing “a pioneering philosophy to storytelling across film, television, games, and emerging platforms.” Whether this announcement means that the other branches of the company will also be affected remains to be seen. The careers page from the official Surgent Studios website has been removed, which isn’t a fantastic sign of what’s to come for the company.
While the game was well received by critics and the general audience who played it, it didn’t perform well commercially. As a result, Surgent Studios is unable to fund its next projects, as it didn’t particularly profit from the release of Tales of Kenzera: ZAU. Now, the team at Surgent Studios is working on a new prototype, which it claims is “darker, edgier, and more visceral” than the previous title. However, the prototype is said to still retain all “ZAU’s high-octane combat and cultural depth.” While they are working on the new prototype, they are said to still be releasing some upcoming content and updates for ZAU.
In the comments, plenty of people are being supportive of the company, and are tagging studios that have the potential to collaborate with Surgent Studios. Some are also suggesting for them to create a Kickstarter or GoFundMe, as this is something that has been successful for many indie games in the past, especially games such as the “My Time At” series.
