Surgent Studios, the video game development company that developed Tales of Kenzera: ZAU with the help of consultancy Sweet Baby Inc., is now laying off employees.
Screenshot from Tales of Kenzera: ZAU (2024), Surgent Studios
As initially reported by Minimal Effort, numerous Surgent Studios employees announced they had been laid off on LinkedIn. Joe Phillpot a 3D Environment Artist posted, “Unfortunately, I have been affected by the layoffs at Surgent Studios. If you or anyone you know is looking for a 3D Artist/3D Environment Artist with 3+ years of experience, and multiple shipped projects in Games and VR, I would love to talk more!”
Joe Phillpot on LinkedIn
Jordan Smee, a former Technical Artist at Surgent Studios, also wrote, “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. If anyone in my network is aware of any openings or can offer any guidance or help in getting me to my next steps, I would sincerely appreciate it.”
He added, “Looking to start asap or as close to that as possible!”
Jordan Smee on LinkedIn
Pete Brisbourne, a former Level Designer at Surgent Studios, posted, “Hello! The chapter entitled “Pete Works At Surgent Studios” is coming to a close at the end of the month.”
He added, “If you’re looking for a remote game / level / content designer with technical Unreal and Unity experience, who is quick to learn, and who’s favourite icecream flavour is pineapple, then drop me a message. Thanks!”
Pete Brisbourne on LinkedIn
Phillip Smy, who was a producer at Surgent Studios, also announced he was being laid off. He wrote, “I’m another casualty of the wild west industry that is video game development. I am open to Project Management roles within the tech and digital industries.”
“Down to chat about any other roles I can help fill, I’d be extremely curious so send me a message and we can chat (no expectations your side 🫡),” he concluded.
Phillip Smy on LinkedIn
Surgent Studios also confirmed the layoffs posting to X, “Unfortunately, Surgent has joined the growing number of games studios impacted by layoffs this year with just over a dozen people affected. It’s a difficult time in the games industry, but we remain incredibly proud of our entire team’s work on ZAU and the praise it has received from critics and players alike.”
The company concluded, “Our focus is now on supporting those affected, continuing our work on ZAU, and looking to the future with our next creative projects.”
Surgent Studios on X
These layoffs come in the wake of the game’s director Abubakar Salim claiming the game’s sales were fine after painting himself as a diversity victim and announcing a deep discount on the game.
A needed message. pic.twitter.com/oJaJEeZd61
— Abubakar Salim (@Abzybabzy) May 31, 2024
He would later clarify his video in a thread on X. In the thread he specifically addressed why he was discounting the game as well as the game’s sales.
First, he he offered an explanation for why he was discounting the game, “‘Why drop the price of your game?’ It’s our way of making a statement in the face of targeted harassment.”
Salim continued, “When we hear the word “Diversity” we always think about race or gender as the only factors. This is a very narrow and and, honestly, uneducated interpretation of what diversity can mean.”
“Diversity is also INCREDIBLY CLOSELY linked to our socioeconomic positions and the issues we face globally. Diversity can also encompass people who struggle with the pressures of ensuring that there is enough food on the table, a roof over families heads, and all the other elements that are vital to day-to-day comfort and survival, many of which people take for granted because they haven’t had similar challenges,” he elaborated.
“As a business owner, at this stage, the pricing of ZAU is the only aspect I can use to take action,” he concluded. “Even this is a difficult thing to orchestrate, especially while being respectful to our partners. Lowering the price of a game is much easier said than done. It’s a miracle we were able to action this so soon, and it’s largely thanks to the efforts and support of many people on our side and the publishing side.”
Abubakar Salim on X
Next, he addressed the game’s sales, “‘The game isn’t selling well.’ Also false. I’ve addressed this on an AMA Reddit. The numbers some are circulating are a fraction of our actual playership, and they’re being shared in bad faith by people who are wanting to provide “proof” that their harassment campaign has been successful in punishing us for daring to take up space.”
Abubakar Salim on X
As for his comments on Reddit, he stated, “It was a busy time! We did good though :) It helps being on multiple platforms. It’s all about longevity and continuing forward. The more people share and talk about the game, the more it snowballs. So yeah, we hope to continue building!”
If it’s false show sales numbers. This is not addressing it. pic.twitter.com/qZQTjjci3H
— Rosary Warrior John F Trent🇻🇦 (@jftrent) June 3, 2024
Clearly, the game’s sales were not fine given the layoffs. And it was not surprising given Steam DB reported the game had almost no players playing the game. In fact, the game’s peak concurrent players peaked in April when the game was released with just 287 players.
Even with Salim attempting to paint himself as a victim in June it did not significantly move the needle when it came to an increase in players. The peak concurrent in June only hit 47. In the past 24-hours the peak concurrent was only 28 players.
SteamDB data for Tales of Kenzera: ZAU (2024), Surgent Studios
The game’s sales were also clearly affected by the game being added to the Sweet Baby Inc. detected Steam curator list that effectively acted as a boycott list for all games that Sweet Baby Inc. has worked on.
The game was added to the curator list after Sweet Baby Inc. announced in January that it had worked on the game. The company wrote, “Our friends at Surgent Studios dropped the trailer for their upcoming action-adventure platformer, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU. We had the utmost pleasure of working with Abubakar Salim and the Surgent team on this poignant story, which has been heavily inspired and influenced by Bantu mythology. We know you’re gonna love it as much as we do.”
“In Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, join Zau as he journeys through the world of Kenzera to get his Baba back, joined by an unlikely companion: the God of Death,” the company added.
Screenshot from Tales of Kenzera: ZAU (2024), Surgent Studios
Furthermore, Salim was a partner with the founders of Sweet Baby Inc. David Bedard and Kim Belair alongside Sweet Baby Inc. employee and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League writer Amy-Leigh Shaw in a company named Bebe Sucre LTD or Sweet Baby LTD.
Bebe Sucre LTD’s Certificate of Incorporation
Salim resigned from his role as Director of the company on March 12, 2024 after being appointed on April 27, 2023.
A screenshot of Bebe Sucre LTD’s filing history
What do you make of Surgent Studios laying off all of these employees despite the game’s director previously claiming sales for the game were strong?
