Disco Elysium Writer Seemingly Files Lawsuit Against His Former Company

The issues surrounding Disco Elysium developer ZA/UM continue, as one ex-developer has apparently filed a lawsuit against the company.

According to a report from Tech News Space, an official website of the Estonian court revealed that the lead game designer of Disco Elysium, Robert Kurvitz, is suing ZA/UM.

According to the report, Kurvitz filed a lawsuit on behalf of his own company, Telomer. The court date is currently set for November 28, but we don’t know exactly what the hearing will be about.

Earlier this month, Disco Elysium editor Martin Luiga said key Disco Elysium developers “involuntarily” left ZA/UM, including Luiga, Kurvitz, writer Helen Hindpere, and lead of art and design Aleksander Rostov. The ex-developer said the core members of the team haven’t been at the studio since the end of 2021.

Luiga also announced the dissolution of the ZA/UM cultural association, which was a separate entity from the studio ZA/UM that was responsible for Disco Elysium’s development.

The future is unclear for Disco Elysium, as Luiga doesn’t think ZA/UM Studio will make a sequel. After leaving the company, the ex-developer said, “I think ZA/UM Studio in its current form will not be developing the sequel and I am unsure of the number of people that left in the company who also worked on the original Disco.” A ZA/UM spokesperson told IGN “the ZA/UM creative team’s focus remains on the development of our next project,” but it’s unclear if that’s related to Disco Elysium, or something else entirely.

Given the original game’s success, Disco Elysium fans are likely disappointed to hear about the ongoing troubles at the studio. We gave a glowing 10/10 review to Disco Elysium – The Final Cut, saying the Final Cut elevates the original from “an already phenomenal RPG to a true must-play masterpiece.”

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.