Disco Elysium developer ZA/UM has announced layoffs affecting up to 32 staff, just two months after releasing its latest title, Zero Parades: For Dead Spies. The UK-based studio said the game's commercial performance had not been strong enough to sustain a studio of its current size, despite critical acclaim, marking another setback for a company that has faced years of internal turmoil.

The cuts affect employees across all departments, and ZA/UM said it will consult with its Workers' Alliance union throughout the process, insisting its "artistic standards remain unchanged". This follows a turbulent few years for the studio, including a 2022 legal dispute involving former key developers Robert Kurvitz and Aleksander Rostov, the departure of several staff to spinoff studios, and a previous round of layoffs in 2024 affecting around 24 employees, which also saw a planned Disco Elysium expansion cancelled. Zero Parades: For Dead Spies launched on 21 May 2026 for PC and PS5, scoring 83 on Metacritic, below the acclaim of its predecessor Disco Elysium.