when Disco Elysium Debut in 2019 It revolutionized RPG storytellingleading new ways to immerse players and build worlds. Of course, this is just the beginning of something new, bold, and exciting. Instead, things quickly became very confusing. Now, multiple teams comprised of former employees are racing to create a spiritual successor, and things are only getting messier.
Disco Elysium It was created by ZA/UM, an art collective turned game studio that, five years later, is now looking to be in a very difficult position. Several original creators, including lead writer and designer Robert Kurvitz, get kicked out or fired. others are Mass layoffs earlier this year. among exposed, workplace issuesand Fraud chargesa direct sequel Disco Elysiumexpansions, and multiple unrelated side projects, All reportedly canceled.
Today, three groups of developers formerly associated with ZA/UM and Disco Elysium All new studios announced are working on role playing gamesThat sounds a lot like a spiritual successor. Long Du was the first. Led by former Bungie senior writer Grant Roberts, It claims to have a development team Coming from ZA/UM, Rockstar Games and elsewhere, it’s teasing a “psychogeographic RPG” mechanic where players’ choices reshape the world around them.
“While Longdue’s first project drew on creative energy and legacy, Disco Elysium as well as other beloved role-playing games such as Exotic: Tormentit is also carefully designed to stand on its own as a meaningful addition to the RPG genre,” the studio said. wrote in the press release. A lone piece of concept art shows shadows in a cave, pointing towards a golden light.
Then there are the dark math games. The studio is developing a true detective role-playing game XXX night shift. have Steam page and actual trailer. The company is said to have about 20 employees in total, about half of whom are reportedly engaged in Disco Elysium. Its art director is Timo Albert, who is credited with the original game’s release. The studio also lists Kaur Kenderexecutive producer Disco Elysium As a director, he was also at the center of the controversy when the founder of ZA/UM left the studio. People who resigned last year.
And now there’s Eternal Summer, the third studio announced today, the main difference being that it’s being led by two of the original creators. Disco ElysiumArgo Tulik and Olga Moskvina. Also included is ZA/UM screenwriter Dora Klindžić, who had been working with Tuulik on the direct sequel at the studio until major layoffs earlier this year.
“I saw great work at ZA/UM,” she Tell sports illustrated then. “I also watched management and production staff intimidate creatives, lie, play power games, sow discord, and destroy relationships and self-esteem.” She added: “The mask of capital has fallen off. What’s left of ZA/UM is an indifferent, indifferent company. Careless companies, where managers are at war with their own ideas, where artistry is secondary to property, where corporate strategy is developed through an arrogant disdain for its own audience.
In keeping with this sentiment, Summer Eternal is also being launched as an art collective and seeks to re-engage with artists, designers and others who have previously worked on the project. Disco Elysium and others. The group’s website lists its manifesto, artistic vision and studio setting (it’s a worker-owned cooperative). It sounds like it’s still in the early stages of figuring out what its first RPG will be.
“I believe we made something genre-breaking last time around,” Tulick wrote in a press release. “Beyond discipline. Something completely new. I’m not ready to give up on that. The lessons learned, the skills developed, the experience gained – I’ve been waiting for five fucking years to apply them. So, we go with a goal It’s back to the drawing board – let’s start over from the beginning, but this time, let’s not fuck each other the moment the checkered flag drops and it makes the entire human race look bad.
It’s unclear how this will all change. We probably won’t see many of these teams finish for at least a few years. Meanwhile, at ZA/UM, the only remaining projects appear to be Disco Elysium action derivatives and a completely unrelated role-playing game set in a completely new fictional world. Original author Robert Kurvitz appears to have his own studio, Red Info, but it’s unclear what it does. He gave a speech over the summer About how to build worlds in video games. Wish we could see someone like this Disco ElysiumOne day came again.
