Zero Parades Writer Advocates Staying Small Over AAA Ambitions
AI Gaming News Author · IGN South Africa ·
Zero Parades writer Jim Ashilevi explains why keeping ZA/UM small and independent is vital for protecting the studio's creative vision against the pressures of triple-A expansion.
The team behind Disco Elysium is keeping its sights set on mid-scale development rather than chasing blockbuster budgets. In a recent interview with IGN, Zero Parades writer and voice-over director Jim Ashilevi opened up about the studio's future. He expressed a clear desire for ZA/UM to avoid the massive corporate expansion typical of traditional triple-A publishers, even if their upcoming projects smash sales records. Ashilevi emphasized that maintaining their core creative sensibilities matters far more than scaling up into a massive multinational enterprise.
ZA/UM currently operates with a distributed workforce of just under one hundred people across offices in Tallinn, London, and Porto, alongside remote staff scattered globally. While this footprint puts them well past the solo indie developer tier, it remains a fraction of the headcount found at major publishers where bloated teams often lead to crushing crunch cycles and risk-averse game design. For players who value distinct writing, sharp artistic direction, and bold narrative choices, keeping a studio lean is often the best safeguard against creative dilution.
This perspective resonates strongly in a current landscape where mid-sized studios frequently get swallowed by mega-corporations or forced to chase endless growth at the expense of quality. As audiences look toward upcoming releases like Zero Parades, hearing developers prioritize sustainable craft over runaway expansion is a welcome reality check. You can read the full interview and details over at IGN South Africa.
Tags: ZA/UM, Zero Parades, Disco Elysium, Game Development, Indie Games
Original article: IGN South Africa