The situation around ZA/UM, the former collective and development studio that gave birth to Disco Elysium, is taking on increasingly childish and tragicomic contours. After the sacking of three key figures who gave birth to the game, increasingly serious accusations continue to rain between the parties.
The latest statements are quite strong: the three authors who worked on Disco Elysium have accused the management of having sold part of the company's shares and of having financed the acquisition of ZA/UM by Tütreke OÜ with the money of the same software house. The accusations, made by Robert Kurvitz (game director) and Aleksander Rostov, were promptly returned to the sender by the management of the development team, who accused the three figures recently removed that you have created a toxic work environment.
At the moment it is difficult to understand who is telling the truth and who is lying. The situation in ZA/UM is certainly complex and it would not be right, at least at the moment, to issue sentences. But what seems clear is that the players will lose out, especially those who loved Disco Elysium and were hoping for a second chapter. They lose both because at present it is difficult to think of a second chapter with the same quality as the first, and because the idea that a collective, strongly leftist and which has launched a very political game, could disappear overnight . ZA/UM certainly represented something different in this industry, which is now in danger of being lost forever.
The story is far from over, but as mentioned above, this is not the time to issue judgments. Unlike other cases (such as that of Activision Blizzard), the real culprits behind this situation are unfortunately still well hidden. And it is said that we will know the truth.
