Platformer melding African Bantu cultures with personal experiences of grief hit PC in late April
Surgent Studios, developers of this year’s fetching AfrofuturistplatformerTales of Kenzera: Zau, have laid off more than a dozen staff. The cuts come just over two months on from the release of the debut video game release from the multimedia studio founded by Assassin’s Creed Origins star Abubakar Salim.
News of layoffs first broke via posts from former employees on LinkedIn (thanks,Game Developer), including a level designer and technical artist. Surgentsubsequently confirmedthe cuts by stating that “just over a dozen people” had been affected, withSalim listingproducers, artists and animators as among those laid off.
“It’s a difficult time in the games industry, but we remain incredibly proud of our entire team’s work on Zau and of the praise it has received from critics and players alike,” they continued, before adding that the studio’s focus would be on “supporting those affected, continuing our work on Zau, and looking to the future with our next creative projects”.
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Zau was revealed at the end of last year as a movingmetroidvaniainspired both by African Bantu cultures and Salim’s own experiences of grief. Inour reviewaround its release on April 23rd, Alice Bee (RPS in Peace) praised its sensitively-told story and beautiful design, while finding its platforming and combat to be a little imprecise at times.
Surgent are yet to announce their next project or future plans for Zau. Best of luck to those affected by the layoffs.
