The studio behind Tales of Kenzera, which released the game six months ago, has now put its staff 'on redundancy notice' in a desperate bid to find funding.

Surgent Studios was founded in 2006 by Abubakar Salim. He is best known for his roles as Bayek and Alyn of Hull, respectively, in Assassin's Creed Origins. The studio went on to create Tales of Kenzera : Zau. However, since the release of the game, the studio has taken a break.

The developer said in a post on X that they had decided to suspend the work of Surgent Games division until we secured funding for their next project. "We've had to put our staff on notice of redundancy in the meantime. Surgent's entire team worked extremely hard to create Tales of Kenzera : Zau, an incredible game that truly comes straight from the heart. Their passion, creativity, dedication, and commitment are nothing short of exceptional."

In July, the studio let go "just over 12" employees. Surgent Studios stated in an announcement that "it is a difficult time for the games industry but we remain extremely proud of our team's Zau work." It's terrible to see talented developers and this studio negatively affected again.

Tales of Kenzera : Zau is metroidvania. You play as Zau a young shaman on a quest to reclaim the soul of his father. The story was inspired by Salim’s own experience with losing his father, and his journey of grieving and finally making peace with it. The game is a great one, both in terms of its story and the platforming and fights. I enjoyed it a lot.

It looks like Tales of Kenzera Zau won't be the last game from the studio, even after the hiatus. The company claims that "our team has created a prototyping for a bold project." "It is darker, edgier and more visceral, but it retains the high-octane battles and cultural depth of Zau." We're also looking for a partnership." Surgent Studios concludes the post with a link to its contact page and invites any potential partners to get in touch.