Surgent Studios, known for the action-platformer Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, has announced that their development team is facing potential layoffs due to financial difficulties. The studio’s game division work is temporarily suspended until new investors are found to support future projects.
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU
In their statement, Surgent Studios noted that they plan to release several scheduled updates for Tales of Kenzera: ZAU. Additionally, they have a prototype for a new project, which the studio hopes will attract potential partners and enable them to resume development.
The public first learned about the issues at Surgent Studios in the summer of 2024, less than three months after the release of their debut game. At that time, Surgent Studios was forced to lay off "more than a dozen" employees who had worked on Tales of Kenzera: ZAU.
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is a Metroidvania from Surgent Studios inspired by African culture, created with the support of Sweet Baby Inc (which consulted on the development of Alan Wake 2 and Starfield). The studio was founded by Abubakar Salim, who voiced Bayek in Assassin’s Creed Origins. Tristan D. Lalla (Assassin’s Creed IV) and Steve Toussaint (HBO’s “House of the Dragon”) also participated in the voice acting.