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Surgent Studios, the developer behind the recent Metroidvania Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, is reportedly facing layoffs after staff members were spotted posting messages on LinkedIn that indicate their time at the studio has come to an abrupt end (thanks, VGC).
The first comes from Jordan Smee, a technical artist at Surgent, who posted, “Well, it looks like I’m joining all the people affected by industry layoffs this year, and I am now seeking Technical Art and Environment Art positions”.
Peter Brisbourne, a level designer, wrote, “The chapter entitled “Pete Works At Surgent Studios” is coming to a close at the end of the month”. His post was accompanied by a GIF captioned ‘affected by layoffs’.
Tales of Kenzera: Zau launched to reasonable critical success earlier this year, though its commercial success is a bit more up in the air. The game received a significant price reduction in June to coincide with a video posted by founder Abubakar Salim to denounce incidents of harassment toward his team.
In our review, we said that Kenzera’s “breezy gameplay might make for a nice introduction to Metroidvanias”, but criticised the exploration and repetitive combat encounters, awarding it a score of 6/10.