ZA/UM hit with more layoffs just two months after Zero Parades: For Dead Spies launch

ZA/UM are facing another round of layoffs, with more than 30 developers affected — and this comes only two months after the studio launched Zero Parades: For Dead Spies.

The cuts hit over 30 people at the studio, though no further breakdown of which teams or roles are affected has been reported as of publication.

ZA/UM are the Estonian studio behind Disco Elysium, one of the most acclaimed RPGs of the last decade. The studio has had a turbulent few years — the original creative leads behind Disco Elysium departed under contentious circumstances, and ZA/UM has been working to establish itself beyond that game's legacy. Zero Parades: For Dead Spies is their follow-up project, making the timing of these layoffs — barely two months post-launch — particularly grim.

With more than 30 developers out the door so soon after a release, questions about the game's commercial performance and the studio's direction are inevitable. No official statement from ZA/UM has been reported yet.