The studio that (technically) made Disco Elysium has a new game in the works

ZA/UM Studio, the company behind Disco Elysium, ">just announced a new game called Project [C4]. It’s being described as a “genre-defining RPG” and there’s a teaser trailer that’s light on gameplay but heavy on disturbing imagery.

Based on the trailer, we still don’t know if the game will pull mechanics or visuals from the highly-regarded Disco Elysium. A press release did note that folks would play as a spy of some kind and suggested that the game could actually, in part, take place in the human brain. Everything else is still shrouded in secrecy.

What’s not shrouded in secrecy? ZA/UM has had, to put it lightly, a tumultuous several years since Disco Elysium was released in 2019. It has been plagued by layoffs, firings and departures of the core team that made Disco Elysium, including creator Robert Kurvitz, art director Aleksander Rostov and writer Helen Hindpere.

Back in 2022, the company’s new executive suite fired all three, accusing them of misconduct and attempted intellectual property theft. It’s worth noting that Kurvitz wrote the novel that Disco Elysium is based on, so we aren’t sure how someone could steal from their own book. Lawsuits were filed and Kurvitz and Rostov set up their own company.

The pair also refuted the allegations of IP theft, writing in an open letter that they were fired as they attempted to investigate suspicious activity surrounding the takeover of ZA/UM by Estonian businessmen Ilmar Kompus and Tõnis Haavel. These two were previously convicted of investment fraud. The pair has also been accused of creating a hostile work environment, particularly for women.

"I know at least five women who've left or been made to leave the studio since Disco’s launch, naming Tõnis Haavel as a major factor. There are zero women in creative leadership and very few women in leadership positions in general,” a former writer for Disco Elsyium told PC Gamer amidst recent company-wide layoffs.

A handful of other previous ZA/UM employees recently formed a dev company called Longdue to create a new game that acts as a spiritual successor to Disco Elysium. Kurvitz and Rostov’s company, Red Info, is said to be making a new game with the financial backing of NetEase, but no concrete details have been released.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-studio-that-technically-made-disco-elysium-has-a-new-game-in-the-works-185218695.html?src=rss https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-studio-that-technically-made-disco-elysium-has-a-new-game-in-the-works-185218695.html?src=rss
Erstellt 18h | 11.03.2025, 20:10:16


Melden Sie sich an, um einen Kommentar hinzuzufügen

Andere Beiträge in dieser Gruppe

How to prepare your phone for trade-in

We've come a long way from the days of discarding smartphones as soon as a new model comes out. Many shoppers are now demanding devices that will last for years, and they are being more conscientio

12.03.2025, 12:20:15 | Engadget
Spotify tries to defend its artist payout rates

It's no secret that Spotify isn't a big money

12.03.2025, 12:20:14 | Engadget
Rivian's latest update offers hands-free highway driving

Electric vehicle company Rivian is rolling out new software today. The lead feature is Enhanced Highway Assist, which controls steering, acceleration, and braking on compatible highways. It relies

11.03.2025, 22:30:11 | Engadget
Security researchers aren't buying Musk's spin on the cyberattack that took down X

One day after X went down for hours, security researchers are throwing cold water on Elon Musk’s public comments about who might be behind the DDoS attack. On Monday, as X was still struggling to

11.03.2025, 22:30:10 | Engadget
Roomba's iRobot 205 robovac can go eight weeks without being emptied

iRobot just announced some new Roomba vacuums and they feature interesting capabilities. The Roomba 205 DustCompactor Combo Robot is being advertised as "the industry's first onboard mechanical deb

11.03.2025, 22:30:09 | Engadget
Microsoft is phasing out its Remote Desktop app in May

The Remote Desktop app for Windows is (almost) dead; long live the Windows

11.03.2025, 22:30:08 | Engadget