ZA/UM considers up to 32 layoffs just two months after launching Zero Parades

ZA/UM has not settled on a final layoff figure

ZA/UM Studio has warned as many as 32 people that their roles could be eliminated, with employees affected across every department. The company announced the move in a Bluesky statement on July 17, less than two months after Zero Parades: For Dead Spies launched.

For now, 32 is the maximum rather than a final total. Some employees are entering consultation, which could reduce the eventual number of departures. The proposal reaches the entire company rather than one isolated team.

ZA/UM blamed the proposed cuts on the game's commercial performance. It says representatives of the ZA/UM Workers' Alliance are involved and has asked other studios to consider hiring the affected developers. The statement gives no severance terms, timeline or target headcount.

Critics liked Zero Parades, but ZA/UM has not published sales

Zero Parades launched on PC on May 21 through Steam, Epic Games Store and GOG. Its official press kit describes an espionage RPG starring Hershel Wilk, built around conversations, dice checks and skills that talk back. The Disco Elysium comparison was unavoidable, even though this is a different setting and story.

The game holds an 83 Metacritic score and drew positive reviews from outlets including GameSpot. Good scores do not pay for development on their own. ZA/UM has published no unit sales, revenue, development cost or break-even target. Reports from Game Developer and PC Gamer cover the notices but have no independent sales total either.

Steam concurrent-player peaks capture activity on one storefront at one moment. They miss sales on GOG and Epic, refunds and customers playing at different times. ZA/UM does acknowledge one thing: current commercial performance cannot support a studio of this size.

The cuts arrive before the PS5 version, which still has no date. The decision therefore follows the PC phase of the release. We do not know how many more copies the studio needed or whether a console launch could improve the situation. ZA/UM has not said whether early PC revenue was meant to fund or market that edition.

The union faces its first major negotiation

ZA/UM went through another round of cuts in 2024, when it cancelled project X7 and laid off 24 people. In October 2025, employees formed the Workers' Alliance through the UK-based IWGB. Management voluntarily recognised the union, which primarily represents UK staff and opens its meetings to colleagues in Tallinn and Porto.

PC Gamer put the studio at around 90 employees at the time, after it had fallen to between 40 and 60 following the 2024 cuts and hired again during Zero Parades. On that estimate, 32 roles would equal roughly a third of the studio. ZA/UM has not disclosed its current headcount, so that cannot be treated as a confirmed percentage.

The union will try to reduce the departures or improve terms for those who leave. ZA/UM confirms its involvement in the consultation, but there is no agreement yet. The company has not explained how the remaining employees would absorb the work.

The PS5 version is still listed, but it has no date

ZA/UM's official site still lists a PS5 version for 2026. The layoff announcement does not cancel it, but it does not guarantee that the schedule remains intact. The PC edition is still available on the official Steam page.

The studio has not announced its next game or said which teams will remain. The next important updates will be the consultation result and a specific PS5 date. For now, ZA/UM has not announced its closure and the console version has not been cancelled.

We will collect any updates in INSERT FUTURE's Gaming channel.