ZA/UM cuts one-third of staff after Zero Parades commercial miss
Summary
ZA/UM issued redundancy notices to up to 32 staff across all departments, two months after Zero Parades: For Dead Spies launched
The cut removes roughly one-third of the ~100-person headcount reported at UK unionization in October 2025
This is the second major reduction in under two years, following ~20 layoffs in 2024 tied to three project cancellations
"After the success of Disco Elysium and the energy that came from it, not only did the team think that they could do anything, but they thought they could do everything and all at once"
01
Commercial miss forces second restructuring in 24 months
Zero Parades launched to positive reviews but failed to sustain a ~100-person studio
ZA/UM stated its commercial performance "has not enabled us to sustain a studio of our current size"
The 2024 round cut ~20 staff after cancelling three projects, including a Disco Elysium sequel and expansion
Two consecutive cuts in 24 months confirm post-Disco Elysium headcount was never matched to a viable slate
02
Post-hit overexpansion as the structural failure
ZA/UM scaled aggressively on Disco Elysium proceeds before a second revenue title was proven
Tomaszewski acknowledged the team believed it could pursue everything at once, calling it a painful lesson
Three cancelled projects carried overhead across a multi-project slate that never reached market
For independent studios without publisher backing, headcount must track shipped revenue, not slate ambition
03
Recognized union sets the compliance floor for ZA/UM studio layoffs
UK staff formalized as the ZA/UM Workers' Alliance under IWGB in October 2025, before this redundancy round
ZA/UM confirmed it consulted Workers' Alliance representatives, meeting UK collective redundancy consultation requirements
"We want to continue being here. So let's try and get a seat at the table in the big management meetings"
Studios with recognized unions cannot compress or bypass consultation timelines, regardless of financial urgency
IWGB meetings extend informal visibility to Porto and Tallinn staff, exposing global arms to reputational risk
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