Released in April of this year, the emotional Metroidvania Tales of Kenzera: ZAU's sales were not enough to sustain developer Surgent Studios. Around three months after launch, a round of layoffs was announced, and in a statement on social media on Friday, it was revealed that the studio's games division will go on hiatus as it seeks new funding.
Relayed by GamesIndustry.biz, Surgent Studios, which also works in TV and film production, announced that it "unfortunately had to put our team on notice for redundancy." Despite EA's publishing backing, ZAU failed to find a footing in the competitive, frankly oversaturated 2D Metroidvania space, despite strong critical reviews and positive player feedback.
Since ZAU launched, Surgent has been working hard to create a prototype for something "darker, edgier, and more visceral" than its previous game and is seeking a partner to bring it to life. In addition, a "couple of exciting updates" are still coming to ZAU in the future.