UM Layoffs to Affect Up to 32 Staff
▼ Summary
– ZA/UM has announced layoffs affecting up to 32 staff, two months after releasing Zero Parades: For Dead Spies.
– The studio stated the game received critical acclaim but its commercial performance could not sustain the current team size.
– ZA/UM will consult with its Workers’ Alliance union during the layoff process and affirmed its artistic standards remain unchanged.
– The layoffs follow a period of controversy since 2022, including the departure of key developers and a lawsuit alleging fraud.
– Prior layoffs in 2024 impacted around 24 employees, and a standalone Disco Elysium expansion was also canceled.
Just two months after the release of Zero Parades: For Dead Spies, developer ZA/UM has announced layoffs that will affect up to 32 employees. The studio behind the critically acclaimed Disco Elysium shared the news in a statement on its X/Twitter account.
The statement explained that while the studio’s latest game, launched in May, received “critical acclaim,” its commercial performance has not been strong enough to support the current team size. “We have served redundancy or at-risk notices impacting up to 32 of our colleagues across all departments at ZA/UM Studio,” the post read. It acknowledged the departing staff’s contributions, noting that “their work has made a lasting difference and left its mark on Zero Parades: For Dead Spies, and the studio as a whole.”
ZA/UM confirmed it will continue to “consult and work with” members of its Workers’ Alliance union throughout the process. The statement emphasized that the layoffs will change “the shape of ZA/UM, but not its purpose,” adding that “our artistic standards remain unchanged: we will persist.” The studio also encouraged employers to consider hiring those leaving the company.
The 2020s have been a turbulent period for ZA/UM. Trouble began in October 2022 when multiple key developers, including writer and designer Robert Kurvitz, writer Helen Hindpere, and art and design lead Aleksander Rostov, reportedly left the studio involuntarily. Weeks later, Kurvitz launched a lawsuit against the company, alleging that Ilmar Kompus and Tõnis Haavel of Tütreke OÜ had obtained control of ZA/UM “by fraud.” The studio denied these claims and issued counter-accusations in a statement to Gamesindustry.biz.
As the internal drama unfolded, several spin-off studios emerged from former ZA/UM developers. Dark Math Games and Longdue Games announced their projects, XXX Nightshift and Hopetown, in October 2024, with Summer Eternal revealing itself shortly after.
Today’s layoffs are not ZA/UM’s first brush with downsizing. In 2024, around 24 employees were reportedly laid off, and a standalone Disco Elysium expansion was canceled around the same time.
Disco Elysium earned ZA/UM multiple awards at The Game Awards 2019 and received a 9.6/10 review from IGN at launch. While Zero Parades: For Dead Spies has not matched that level of acclaim, it still holds an 83 on Metacritic following its May 21, 2026, release on PC and PS5. For a deeper look at the studio’s complicated history, IGN has published a full breakdown of the events surrounding ZA/UM.
(Source: IGN)