Six to Start, the company behind Zombies, Run! and Marvel Move, has laid off all but two of its staff, The Verge has learned. The news was delivered last week to staffers in a Zoom call, in which they were told that parent company OliveX could no longer afford to keep Six to Start afloat and would shut down the company if they can’t find a buyer. Laid-off staffers were also served redundancy notices, which The Verge has confirmed.
The ZRX: Zombies, Run! app is an immersive fitness game that plops walkers and runners into audio-based storytelling. When enemies, be they the undead or Marvel villains, “chase” you, you’re encouraged to pick up speed. At the end of an episode, you can also collect items to trade for badges or in-game buildings. First founded in 2012, the app says it has about 10 million users worldwide.
Such immersive storytelling games, especially Marvel Move, are expensive to produce. They involve writing storylines, hiring voice actors to perform the material, and artists to create graphics. One source with knowledge on the matter noted that it’s unlikely the app will completely shut down for now, as there are plenty of loyal Zombies, Run! players and subscribers. Instead, it’s likely OliveX is trying to massively lower costs by slashing or completely pausing new content, relying on the hundreds of episodes still in the archive. OliveX is apparently actively looking for buyers, and there may already be interested parties, the source says.
OliveX first acquired Six to Start in 2021, but another source, speaking on condition of anonymity, claims Six to Start staffers clashed with both OliveX and its owner, Animoca Brands. The games’ anti-capitalist themes were at odds with the parent companies’ aims to create crypto and NFT projects. The source claims that working under OliveX was “agony.” To date, there have been no NFTs within any of Six to Start games.
It’s unclear what will happen for ZRX: Zombies, Run! subscribers in the short-term. While there is an extensive library of content, part of the draw was regular releases of new episodes. The Verge reached out to OliveX and Six to Start for comment, but did not immediately receive responses.
