Tales of Kenzera: Zau developer Surgent Studios has been hit with a spherical of layoffs, the studio confirmed in an announcement on X/Twitter on Tuesday.

The assertion, which you’ll learn in full under, clarifies that simply over a dozen staff have been affected, acknowledging that Surgent is sadly just one of many studios seeing layoffs this 12 months.

pic.twitter.com/gulWFDsFZS

— Surgent Studios | ZAU OUT NOW (@surgentstudios) July 2, 2024

“It is a troublesome time within the video games business, however we stay extremely proud of our whole staff’s work on ZAU and of the reward it has recieved from critics and gamers alike,” the assertion says. “Our focus now could be on supporting these affected, persevering with our work on ZAU, and trying to the longer term with our subsequent artistic initiatives.”

Surgent Studios founder and Tales of Kenzera director Abubakar Salim additionally shared the assertion on his X/Twitter account shortly after it was posted, writing “This hurts deeply. This is not the information I wished to share right now.”

Thanks a lot to those that have checked in. This hurts deeply. This is not the information I wished to share right now.

I’m so proud of what the staff have acheieved over the course of these 4 years. When issues received powerful, each one of them stood so sturdy, it was inspiring.

So to be… https://t.co/Q0C7H5udvv

— Abubakar Salim (@Abzybabzy) July 2, 2024

“I’m so proud of what the staff have acheieved over the course of these 4 years. When issues received powerful, each one of them stood so sturdy, it was inspiring,” Salim added. “So to be delivering this information right now actually sucks. I do know we’re not alone right here, however that does not make it simpler.”

He additionally threaded hyperlinks to affected staff as they seek for new work.

Previous to Surgent’s assertion, Game Developer had famous {that a} quantity of the studio’s staff shared on LinkedIn and different social media platforms that they have been in search of work. The information comes simply three months after the discharge of Tales of Kenzera, Surgent’s debut title.

As Surgent’s assertion notes, Tales of Kenzera drew optimistic opinions when it launched on April 23 for Nintendo Swap, PlayStation 5, Xbox Sequence X | S, and PC. In our 7/10 assessment, we mentioned the Metroidvania “is not groundbreaking throughout the style, however its elevated by a very shifting story about how one can go on on this world when your family members have handed on to the subsequent.”

2024 continues to be a tricky 12 months for recreation business layoffs, with main cuts at firms together with Microsoft, Sony, EA, Take-Two Interactive, Sq. Enix, and way more.

Alex Stedman is a Senior Information Editor with IGN, overseeing leisure reporting. When she’s not writing or enhancing, yow will discover her studying fantasy novels or enjoying Dungeons & Dragons.