Person in headphones slouched in a chair under blue and red neon light.
Image credit: ZA/UM

Zero Parades release: All we know about the espionage RPG after Gamescom

⚠️ This page mixes confirmed information with industry rumors and speculation. We’ll keep it updated as new details and leaks come to light.

Table of Contents
  1. The Escapist recaps
  2. When could Zero Parades be released?
  3. Expected Zero Parades price & pre-orders
  4. Zero Parades platforms
  5. Zero Parades trailer & gameplay analysis
  6. Ask The Escapist
  7. References

After almost six years, developer ZA/UM has revealed its new game. An announcement trailer for Zero Parades was unveiled during Gamescom 2025; it’s a “story-rich espionage RPG” that looks set to follow in the surrealist footsteps of its predecessor Disco Elysium. But will it prove as “ground-breaking”?

The minute-long trailer, which utilised a lot of concept artwork and pre-alpha in-game footage, gave little away. Currently, no release date for this PC title has been given, likely because the game is still in early development. With that being said, let’s take a look at all the details we do know about the Zero Parades game so far.


The Escapist recaps

  • Zero Parades is a PC game that will be available on Steam upon release.
  • The title will blend surrealist visuals, espionage intrigue, and “richly drawn characters”.
  • No release date for Zero Parades has been given.
  • Gamers will play as Hershel Wilk, a “burnt out” but “brilliant” operator as they try to redeem their past mistakes. 

When could Zero Parades be released?

Isometric view of a dark, cluttered apartment with neon purple lighting and two characters inside.
The intriguing world of Zero Parades. Image credit: ZA/UM

The Zero Parades release date remains unknown. Both the announcement trailer and the game’s Steam page offer no further information beyond the catch-all phrase “coming soon”. 

However, interested fans can wishlist the title on Steam. Once we learn more about its intended release date, we’ll update this article, so make sure to regularly check back for more details. 

As for whether Zero Parades will release a ‘Final Cut’ edition, similar to Disco Elysium, we can’t say at this time. If the new title proves as popular as its predecessor, then it would seem more than likely.

Expected Zero Parades price & pre-orders

Surreal artwork of a woman surrounded by shadowy figures, one whispering into her ear.
“Untangle a bloody web of intrigue”. Image credit: ZA/UM

The Gamescom announcement revealed no further details about when fans can pre-order the Zero Parades price. Nor did ZA/UM reveal how much the title will be upon release. All we can do is speculate based on current industry prices for newly released titles. 

Despite no Zero Parades pre-orders currently being available, you can wishlist the game on Steam, as mentioned previously. 

Zero Parades platforms

Concept art of vintage video players, cassette tapes, and recording devices.
Zero Parades concept art. Image credit: ZA/UM

As detailed in the trailer, the Zero Parades platform will be PC via Steam. This falls in line with ZA/UM’s launch of Disco Elysium, which was first released on PC before eventually coming to other platforms. 

Whether the title will be Steam Deck compatible is unknown, though we will be sure to update this article once we learn more. Though typically, unless the developers inform Valve of its optimisation for the Steam Deck prior to launch, we won’t know more until after its release.

Zero Parades trailer & gameplay analysis

As we mentioned earlier, the Zero Parades trailer is short and rather vague. The vast majority of the Gamescom announcement consisted of concept artwork, alongside limited clips of pre-alpha in-engine footage. 

However, a distinctive aesthetic, similar to Disco Elysium, clearly shines through. The world the lead protagonist, Hershel Wilk, finds herself in is a murky, neo-noir dystopia, in which there are “no happy endings”.

“Descend into a world of bootleg mind-erasure, failed space programmes, and state-sponsored pop stars,” reads its description. In that vein, the title seems to explore similar themes to those seen in CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077

ZA/UM promises players an “unforgettable city”, with the world you’ll explore described as “a character with its own secrets, traumas, and miracles for you to discover”. Gameplay-wise, from the little we’ve seen, the Zero Parades game will use the same top-down perspective used in Disco Elysium.

Given the visual similarities between Disco Elysium and Zero Parades, a question that many fans will have is whether Zero Parades is a sequel to the hit game. 

Despite sharing obvious similarities, both aesthetically and thematically, Zero Parades isn’t a direct sequel to ZA/UM’s 2019 title. This is most distinctive in a comparison of Disco Elysium’s Harry and Zero Parades’ Wilks.

Even though both lead protagonists have tragic backgrounds, Wilk retains her memories – hers isn’t a quest to recover from amnesia, like Harry, but to ultimately determine how she’ll be remembered. 

Ask The Escapist

Will Zero Parades be released on other platforms?

At the time of writing this, the only confirmed platform Zero Parades will launch on is Steam.

When is Zero Parades likely to be released?

With no release date suggested, we can’t say when ZA/UM’s new game will launch. The best way to stay up to date is by wishlisting the title.

Is Zero Parades a choice-based RPG?

Although ZA/UM hasn’t described the game as such, your choices in Zero Parades will matter. As the description suggests, you can make it big or “blow it all up”. But whether you have the same level of freedom like in Disco Elysium is still unknown.

Can you play as other characters?

Even though you will meet many unique characters, you will only play as Wilk, in a similar vein to only playing as Harry Du Bois in Disco Elysium.

Can you customise Wilk in Zero Parades?

At the time of writing this, no character customisation has been revealed. If Zero Parades uses similar mechanics to Disco Elysium, players might be able to customise Wilk’s attire and stats as the game progresses. However, that hasn’t been confirmed.

Are the same writers who wrote Disco Elysium working on Zero Parades?

It’s possible, though highly unlikely. ZA/UM has undergone numerous changes since Disco Elysium’s release, with the majority of the original team no longer part of the studio.

References

  1. ZERO PARADES – Official Announcement Trailer (YouTube)

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Related Content
Table of Contents
  1. The Escapist recaps
  2. When could Zero Parades be released?
  3. Expected Zero Parades price & pre-orders
  4. Zero Parades platforms
  5. Zero Parades trailer & gameplay analysis
  6. Ask The Escapist
  7. References
Related Content
Table of Contents
  1. The Escapist recaps
  2. When could Zero Parades be released?
  3. Expected Zero Parades price & pre-orders
  4. Zero Parades platforms
  5. Zero Parades trailer & gameplay analysis
  6. Ask The Escapist
  7. References
Related Content
Table of Contents
  1. The Escapist recaps
  2. When could Zero Parades be released?
  3. Expected Zero Parades price & pre-orders
  4. Zero Parades platforms
  5. Zero Parades trailer & gameplay analysis
  6. Ask The Escapist
  7. References
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Emma Flint
Features Writer
Ever since Emma watched her mum play Alex Kidd back in the early 90s, she’s loved gaming. Now a Features Writer, with a particular fondness for RPGs, you can often find Emma starting yet another playthrough of the Dragon Age series. But she isn’t just a dedicated fangirl; she also has over 13 years of feature writing experience, having written for WIRED, The Guardian, TechRadar, and Inverse, to name but a few.
Author
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Sam Smith
Features Editor
Sam is Escapist's Features Editor and has been obsessed with gaming since he first discovered Sonic the Hedgehog in the mid-1990s. Since then, he’s collected nearly every console and adores all things Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox equally. After completing his journalism degree, Sam steered his career towards writing about games and has never looked back, with bylines at Dexerto, GamesRadar, Insider Gaming, Soundsphere, and more. He’s also fully NCTJ accredited. He’s also likely to be that annoying person who keeps beating you in Elden Ring’s Colosseum.