The Follow-Up to One of 2024’s Best Games May Never Happen

Abubakar Salim possesses the kind of optimism actors require. Concurrently, online mobs decry the inclusion of people of color or those from marginalized groups in games, calling it “forced diversity”; if these games underperform, conspiracists point to these titles as an indication that representation equates with failure, ignoring the ongoing and nuanced challenges the industry faces. When Salim released Zau in April, its Steam and Metacritic pages were bombed with users complaining about “3-letter agencies behind it that want to push an agenda”. Roughly six months after the game’s release, Surgent announced—like so many other studios this year—that it would put its team on hiatus until it could secure funding for its next project. Fittingly, it’s about not letting “fear of death consume you.” Salim has a grand vision for Surgent's future, even if he knows the current climate in the industry makes that future seem precarious.