Disco Elysium Studios’ new game gets demo at Steam Next Fest

Zero Parades For Dead Spies, the upcoming espionage RPG from Disco Elysium studio ZA/UM, is set to release a limited-time demo during the upcoming Steam Next Fest event between February 23 to March 16.

The upcoming title is slated to release in 2026 and promises a narrative-first RPG revolving around human psychology and political storylines, all in a grounded art style reminiscent of Disco Elysium.

In an announcement made on Steam, ZA/UM elaborates:

“ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies will debut with a free, time-limited demo starting February 23rd as part of Steam Next Fest.”

“Step into the shoes of Hershel Wilk, our brilliant but tormented operant, and explore the city-state of Portofiro in a tailored version of the game’s opening.”

“Play through two quests, unravel various side stories, and meet some of the quirky, questionable characters who reside in our surrealist environment.”

Why don’t you join us?

While the opening hours of the demo allegedly won’t mirror those of the final game, this announcement suggests that the demo will be the first chance to experience the surreal environment and tense internal thought management gameplay of Zero Parades ahead of its 2026 release.

Although ZA/UM has kept information on Zero Parades close to their chest, the upcoming Zero Parades demo seems like it will pull back the curtain slightly on the story of main character Hershel Wilk and give us a glimpse of what the narrative has in store.

What little we have seen of Zero Parades implies that ZA/UM are looking to recapture the grounded yet surreal energy of Disco Elysium. While we have yet to see whether lightning can strike twice for the studio, this announcement suggests that we won’t be waiting long to get our first impressions of its next work.