Update: 11:10 BST, 03/10/2022: ZA/UM has responded to TheGamer's request for comment via email, stating: "Like any video game, the development of Disco Elysium was and still is a collective effort, with every team member’s contribution essential and valued as part of a greater whole. At this time, we have no further comment to make other than the ZA/UM creative team’s focus remains on the development of our next project, and we are excited to share more news on this with you all soon."
Several key developers behind the critically acclaimed video game Disco Elysium were apparently forced to leave developer, Studio ZA/UM, at some point towards the end of last year. According to sources familiar with the affair, the move was “involuntary” on the part of the people involved.
The news comes from the industry insider known as Nibel. The notorious leaker noted on Twitter that “multiple key leads behind Disco Elysium including Robert Kurvitz, Aleksander Rostov, and Helen Hindpere have been pushed out of ZA/UM (the company) and are not involved with the sequel anymore.”
Nibel appears to have been drawing from a statement posted to Medium by a member of the ZA/UM Cultural Association, a group within the Disco Elysium community. The member in question, Martin Luiga, announced the dissolution of this group, adding in passing that Kurvitz, Rostov, and Hindpere left the company “involuntarily.”
“I, Martin Luiga, a founding member and Secretary of the ZA/UM Cultural Association as well as the assembler of most of the core team, am hereby dissolving the ZA/UM Cultural Association,” Luiga said. “Not to be confused with the ZA/UM company on which subject I would note that neither Kurvitz, Hindpere nor Rostov are working there since the end of last year and their leaving the company was involuntary. Which would seem like bad news for the loving fans that are waiting for the Disco Elysium sequel.”
The bombshell dropped by Luiga has not yet been confirmed by any of the developers involved, but this has of course not stopped fans of the franchise from lamenting their loss from the studio. Disco Elysium was received incredibly well by critics and players alike, many considering the game to be one of the best ever made. Kurvitz, Rostov, and Hindpere respectively acted as the lead designer, artist, and writer. The sequel is expected to be officially announced at some point this or next year.