ZA/UM Studio announced layoffs impacting up to 32 staff members across all departments on July 17, 2026, citing the commercial performance of its latest game, Zero Parades: For Dead Spies, as the cause [1, 2, 3].
Zero Parades launched on May 21, 2026, to critical acclaim and holds an 83 score on Metacritic but failed to sustain the studio’s current size with relatively weak sales [1, 2]. SteamDB data shows the game peaked at 3,177 concurrent players near launch but declined steadily afterward [3].
As of October 2025, ZA/UM had around 100 employees before the latest round of layoffs [1]. The studio said it worked closely with representatives of the ZA/UM Workers' Alliance union throughout the redundancy process [1, 2, 3].
"While Zero Parades: For Dead Spies was released to critical acclaim, its commercial performance has not enabled us to sustain a studio of our current size," ZA/UM said, adding that "this changes the shape of ZA/UM, but not its purpose. Our artistic standards remain unchained: we will persist." [1]
ZA/UM previously laid off around 24 employees in 2024 and canceled a planned standalone expansion for its hit game Disco Elysium [2]. Disco Elysium, released in 2019, was a critical and commercial success but the studio has faced turmoil since, including involuntary departures of key developers, a lawsuit over studio control, and allegations of a hostile work environment [1, 2, 3].
Former ZA/UM developers have created spinoff studios such as Longdue Games to continue narrative-focused projects [2, 3].
ZA/UM encouraged industry partners to consider hiring those affected by the layoffs, stating, "Our artistic standards remain unchanged: we will persist. To anyone currently hiring, please consider the colleagues leaving ZA/UM" [2].
