Dead Take launches today as a psychological horror PC game from actor Abubakar Salim‘s Surgent Studios.
Funded and published by an arm of Palworld creator, Pocketpair Publishing, the game is available now on Steam and the Epic Games Store.
The game is a live-action game where players face some dark consequences if they fail to get through escape rooms. It stars actors Neil Newbon and Ben Starr, but Salim, one of the stars of HBO’s House of the Dragon, doesn’t have a role in the game.
Surgent Studios had a real journey in making the game, as we noted in an earlier story. At first, Surgent Studios was trying to make a sequel to its award winning game, Tales of Kenzera: Zau.
The inspiration for the Zau game in its African setting was that Salim was trying to emotionally deal with the death of his own father. Salim infused a similar backstory into the game’s main character Zau. It debuted in April 2024 to positive reviews from critics, but it wasn’t a big commercial success.
Surgent Studios had to lay off some of its staff in July 2024 because the company hadn’t secured money for the follow-up game, Project Uso, which was more of a sequel to Zau. The company had a prototype, but no funding. It looked like Surgent was going to fall apart, as the firm put its staff on hiatus.
Then, in a surprise twist, Surgent Studios announced in January, 2025, that it had partnered with Pocketpair Publishing, the publishing division of the maker of Palworld, which was extremely successful. But instead of making Project Uso, Salim said that the company was going to work on a horror game instead.
Dead Take is the result, and it is on sale for $15, a pretty low price. The game is available with a 10% temporary discount to celebrate the launch (Full price without discount: 12 GBP / 14 euros / $15 USD).
Set in a luxurious yet secluded Hollywood Hills mansion, Dead Take casts players as an actor (Neil Newbon as Chase Lowry) searching for his friend (Ben Starr as Vinny Monroe) gone missing after a lavish Hollywood party.
As they navigate escape-room-style puzzles and splice together live action videos they find along the way, players will uncover the darkest secrets behind the entertainment industry’s glittering facade. Dead Take is a descent into one creative mind’s personal hell and a critique of an industry that elevates talent while eroding the soul behind it.
Dead Take’s full cast also includes Jane Perry (Baldur’s Gate 3, Dragon Age: The Veilguard), and Alanah Pearce (Cyberpunk 2077, V/H/S/Beyond), as well as cameo appearances that player can find from Laura Bailey (The Last of Us: Part II, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2), Matthew Mercer (Critical Role, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth), Sam Lake (Alan Wake II, Max Payne), Travis Willingham (Marvel Rivals, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order), and CDawgVA (Honkai: Star Rail, Card-En-Ciel).
“I’m not pulling any punches with Dead Take,” said Abubakar Salim, creative director of Surgent Studios. “We decided to go bold with it, to take risks, to stack it with incredible actors who really understand the vision. It’s ambitious, but we couldn’t be timid with this one. This is our shot.”
Of course, Salim didn’t say that Dead Take was based on any bad behavior he has witnessed in Hollywood.