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Draft:ZA/UM

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ZA/UM
TypePrivate
IndustryVideo games
Founded2016; 10 years ago (2016)
FoundersRobert Kurvitz
Kaur Kender
Headquarters
United Kingdom
Products
Websitezaumstudio.com

ZA/UM is an independent video game developer and publisher, and former cultural association, based in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 2016 by novelists Robert Kurvitz and Kaur Kender, and has offices in London and Brighton.[1]

ZA/UM's first game, Disco Elysium, was released for Windows in October 2019 and macOS in April 2020. An expanded version of the game featuring full voice acting and new content, titled The Final Cut, was released for consoles in 2021, alongside a free update for the PC versions. ZA/UM Atelier was launched in March 2021, featuring limited edition clothing and artwork inspired by concepts from the game.

Following the release of Disco Elysium, several key contributors to ZA/UM, including founders Kurvitz and Kender left the organisation in acrimony, resulting in legal disputes. Several games the studio had in development were then cancelled, and 25% of the workforce laid off. In 2026, the studio's second game, Zero Parades: For Dead Spies, was released. Although critically well-received, it sold poorly, resulting in a further round of layoffs.

Background and formation

[edit]
Founder, novelist Robert Kurvitz pictured in 2014

Conception of Elysium

[edit]

ZA/UM was founded in 2016 by Estonian novelist Robert Kurvitz, who served as the game's lead writer and designer.[2][3] In 2005, Kurvitz was playing in a band called Ultramelanhool and conceived of a fictional world during a drunken evening while listening to Tiësto's "Adagio for Strings".[4] The group then created a collective of artists and musicians, which included oil painter Aleksander Rostov, the lead artist of Disco Elysium, to expand upon the work of that night and developed a tabletop role-playing game based on Dungeons & Dragons on this steampunk-like concept.[4]

Sacred and Terrible Air and Kurvitz-Kender relationship

[edit]

During this period, Kurvitz met Estonian author Kaur Kender, who helped him to write a novel set in this world, Sacred and Terrible Air,[3] which was published in 2013 but only sold about one thousand copies. Kurvitz fell into a period of depression and alcoholism for about three years following the book's commercial failure.[4] The failure of Sacred and Terrible Air, along with Kurvitz and Rostov's teenage experience with Dungeons and Dragons, would inspire ZA/UM's design philosophy of embracing failure.[5]

Decision to make a videogame

[edit]

Kurvitz eventually managed to overcome his alcoholism and helped Kender in his own recovery. As a sign of gratitude, Kender suggested to Kurvitz that instead of pursuing a novel, he could try capturing his world as a video game to draw a larger interest. Kurvitz had no experience in video games, but once he saw the artwork of the game's setting easily fitting into an isometric format, as well as Rostov's agreement that they might as well continue taking the risk of failing on a video game together, Kurvitz proceeded with the idea.[4]

They formed ZA/UM to developed the game, using the name "za um", is a reference to the Zaum constructed language created by Russian avant-garde poets in the early 1900s. Its name can be read in Russian as a shortcut for the idiom взяться за ум (vzyat'sya za um), which is similar to the English idea of bootstrapping. The use of all-capitals and the slash symbol is to present the team as "something that definitely exists and weighs eight tonnes".[4]

Disco Elysium

[edit]

Development and move of ZA/UM to the UK

[edit]

Work on Disco Elysium started around 2016, with the local team living in a squat in a former gallery in Tallinn. They were able to secure venture capital into the game during the first year, which allowed Kurvitz to seek out the English band British Sea Power for music for the game's soundtrack. While in Birmingham to speak to the band, Kurvitz realised England was a better location for the main development team as there were more local resources for both development and for voice-overs.[4] During development, some of the staff relocated from Estonia to London and Brighton, with other designers working out of Poland, Romania, and China.[6][7] Overall, by the time of the game's release, ZA/UM had about 20 outside consultants and 35 in-house developers,[4] with a team of eight writers assisting Kurvitz in the game's dialogue.[6][8] The majority of the game's funding was provided by Estonian businessman Margus Linnamäe.[7][9]

Expansion of scope and delay

[edit]

As originally planned, the game was to focus on action in a single city location to make the 2017 release. However, as ZA/UM had indicated to investors that this was to be a game that spanned a larger world, they found the need to spread beyond that single location, forcing them to delay the game's release, along with the name change to Disco Elysium.[4] Kurvitz had always anticipated the No Truce title to be more of a working title and wanted to reserve it for when they had bundled Disco Elysium with a second planned game.[10] Though ZA/UM had initially planned to publish the game through Humble Bundle, they ultimately chose to self-publish it.[11]

Release and reception

[edit]

Disco Elysium received universal critical acclaim upon its release,[12][13] winning numerous awards, notably at the Game Awards 2019 (Best Independent Game, Best Narrative, Best Role Playing Game, Fresh Indie Game).[14] It sold more than five million copies,[15] and is regarded by some critics as one of the greatest video games of all time,[16][17][18] and a strong example of video games as an art form.

Disputes and departures

[edit]

Following the critical and commercial success of Disco Elysium, work immediately began on a direct sequel to the game as well as several spin-off projects.[19] The direct sequel, code-named Y12, was led by Kurvitz, Rostov, and Hindpere. Another project, P1, was led by Kender.[19]

Departures of Kurvitz and key members

[edit]

In October 2022, ZA/UM member Martin Luiga announced that he, Kurvitz, Rostov, and Hindpere of ZA/UM had "involuntarily left the company" in late 2021, stating that ZA/UM "no longer represents the ethos it was founded on." Luiga also affirmed that the ZA/UM cultural association had also been dissolved.[20] In an interview, Luiga stated that the other three members had been fired under false pretenses.[21] A spokesperson for ZA/UM denied the allegations.[22]

In early November 2022, conflicting reports of the events were announced. According to Kurvitz, Zaum Studio OÜ, the development studio, was originally owned in majority shares by Margus Linnamäe, and was then acquired by Tütreke OÜ, a holding company owned by studio CEO Ilmar Kompus through a share purchase in 2021. Kurvitz and Rostov claimed that the funds used for that purchase were pulled from the studio itself, making it a fraudulent purchase, upon which they started to challenge the purchase and recover their IP from the studio.[23] Among Kurvitz' and Rostov's complaints is that Kompus purchased four sketches from ZA/UM that were establishing the basis for a Disco Elysium sequel for £1, then resold these to Zaum for €4.8 million, effectively helping Kompus regain part of the money spent to acquire ZA/UM through Tütreke.

Kurvitz and Rostov discovered the change in how the company was organised, including their demotion, and were fired when they began raising questions. Kurvitz and Rostov argued that they still have some control of the Disco Elysium intellectual property rights, and thus should have had a say in blocking the sale.[23][24] ZA/UM denied the charges in a statement, and alleged that the former employees had been let go for creating a disruptive environment at the studio, claiming that the two had "limited to no engagement in their responsibility and work", as well as verbally abused and discriminated against other employees.[24] Other employees of ZA/UM, speaking anonymously with GamesIndustry.biz, claimed the situation was "not black and white".[25]

[edit]

Legal proceedings in the matter were started by Kaur Kender, the executive producer of Disco Elysium. Kender had asked similar questions of the change in ZA/UM's management, leading to his firing.[24] He filed suit asserting that Kompus owed him €1 million. Kender further asserted that Kompus was aided by Tõnis Haavel, an Estonian investor and Kompus' brother-in-law[26] who had been convicted of fraud and was already €11.5 million in debt.[24] Haavel has a majority share in Yessirnosir Ltd., a United Kingdom subsidiary of ZA/UM where the Disco Elysium rights are held. An initial hearing in Kender's case, which included statements from Kurvitz, was held in October 2022.[24] By December 2022, Kender had dropped his lawsuit, as Kompus had paid back €4.8 million from Tütreke back to ZA/UM.[27][28] Kurvitz and Rostov still assert that there were illegal actions to take over the development studio leading to their ouster.[28]

The studio issued a statement on 14 March 2023 stating that all legal actions from the former members were concluded. Of Kender, he had "divested all his shares in the studio, repaid all his debts to the studio", and paid for the studio's legal fees under court order. Of Kurvitz and Rostov, the studio alleged that their lawsuit was dropped due to a lack of evidence. Further details of these cases remain confidential.[29] On 17 March 2023, Kurvitz and Rostov responded to this statement by clarifying that the announcement was "wrong and misleading in several respects" and "[sought] to unfairly paint [them] - the remaining minority shareholders in ZA/UM - as mere disgruntled employees." Kurvitz and Rostov also stated that their lawsuit regarding employment claims against the studio was dismissed "as part of a larger campaign against [them]" and that they plan to "pursue legal options accordingly."[30][31] In May 2023, People Make Games published the findings of their investigation into ZA/UM's legal situation, in which Tuulik was featured heavily in interviews.[32] Klindžić alleged that company executives isolated Tuulik in retaliation for unfavorable comments made toward them in the documentary.

Post-Disco Elysium projects and struggles

[edit]

Locust City and other projects under development

[edit]

Following the ouster of Kurvitz, Rostov, and Hindpere, work on the direct sequel project Y12 continued for several months under Argo Tuulik, one of the writers on Disco Elysium, and Dora Klindžić until management cancelled it in mid-2022.[19] Shortly thereafter, Tuulik and Klindžić were asked to pitch a "standalone expansion" to Disco Elysium, X7, later revealed to be titled Locust City: A Disco Elysium Story, which centered on the characters of Cuno and Cunoesse.[33] The game was greenlighted by management without a pre-production period. Full production began before the understaffed writing duo had a full outline of the game. They gained additional staff when Kender's project P1 was cancelled pursuant to his ouster.[19] The team produced a "well-received" internal demo for X7 at the end of 2023.[19]

Layoffs and cancellations

[edit]

In February 2024, Sports Illustrated's gaming publication GLHF reported that ZA/UM was laying off about 25% of its staff, including Tuulik and Klindžić, cancelling X7, and confirmed the earlier cancellation of Y12.[34][35] Tuulik noted that the layoffs primarily targeted women and team members who had raised complaints about working conditions.[26] PC Gamer reported that the only remaining projects at ZA/UM were M0, a Disco Elysium mobile game, and C4, an unrelated RPG.[19] In March 2025, ZA/UM revealed C4 as Zero Parades, not connected in story or setting with Disco Elysium, nor considered as a spiritual successor.[36][37]

Zero Parades

[edit]

In 2026, the studio's second game, Zero Parades: For Dead Spies, was released on Windows and Playstation 5. Like Disco Elysium, it was a single-player role playing game in isometric view. It was set in a new universe of Portofiro, with communist, neoliberal and fascist factions. Writers Siim "Kosmos" Sinamäe and Honey Watson said that unlike Disco Elysium which was a cop story, Zero Parades is a spy story, where there is necessarily no right or wrong action, making the game more suitable to the systems they had developed for it. Zero Parades was inspired primarily by the spy novels of John le Carré, which Watson said were more intellectual compared to James Bond, and about a person doing "sneaky, horrible things" as part of their espionage, and allows the player to opt to role-play more directly with Hershel.[38] Additionally, the works of Ursula K. Le Guin and Thomas Pynchon inspired the story.[38]

It was critically well-received,[39][40] attracting praise for its writing, and criticism for being derivative of Disco Elysium.[41][42] The game's sales were below expectations, however, and in July 2026, ZA/UM announced a round of layoffs and redundancies, with 32 staff from across the studio released.[43]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ https://zaumstudio.com/
  2. ↑ Taylor, Haydn (31 October 2018). "Chasing oblivion with Disco Elysium and alcohol addiction". Gamesindustry.biz. Archived from the original on 31 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  3. 1 2 Macgregor, Jody (2 November 2019). "Disco Elysium's lead designer wants to make an expansion and sequel, has already written a novel". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 4 November 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Wiltshire, Alex (9 January 2020). "The making of Disco Elysium: How ZA/UM created one of the most original RPGs of the decade". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on 9 January 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  5. ↑ Metsniit, Mikk (31 March 2017). "The Hungarian Interview". ZA/UM Studio. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  6. 1 2 Batchelor, James (21 July 2017). "Making games under threat of nuclear war". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 21 July 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  7. 1 2 Altküla, Magnus (22 October 2019). "Kaur Kender on new computer game: It's like 'Truth and Justice'". Postimees. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  8. ↑ Price, Edward (20 April 2018). "Disco Elysium – Rezzed 2018 Interview". GameAnalytics. Archived from the original on 19 October 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  9. ↑ Helemäe, Deisi (5 September 2018). "Kaur Kenderi uus videomänguäri on neelanud juba 700 000 eurot investorite raha" [Kaur Kender's new video game business has already absorbed 700,000 euros of investors' money]. Geenius.ee (in Estonian). Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  10. ↑ O'Keefe, David (20 January 2020). "The Invisible Art of Game Titles". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Archived from the original on 11 January 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  11. ↑ Tarason, Dominic (9 March 2018). "No Truce With The Furies gets a mad new title and trailer". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on 17 October 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  12. ↑ Kelly, Andy (15 October 2019). "Disco Elysium Review". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  13. ↑ "Disco Elysium for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 10 March 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ↑ thegameawards (12 December 2019). Disco Elysium Wins the Fresh Indie Game Award Presented by Reggie Fils-Aimé. Retrieved 1 July 2026 – via YouTube.
  15. ↑ Faber, Tom (17 September 2025). "A Group of Socialists Created a Hit Game That Tore Them Apart". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  16. ↑ Slant Staff (13 April 2020). "The 100 Best Video Games of All Time". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  17. ↑ I. G. N. Staff (31 December 2021). "The Top 100 Video Games of All Time". IGN. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  18. ↑ "Best Games on PC". Metacritic. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Litchfield, Ted (13 June 2024). "A follow-up to the legendary Disco Elysium might have been ready to play within the next year⁠—ZA/UM's devs loved it, management canceled it and laid off the team: 'For a while it seemed like miracles were possible, and with them redemption'". PC Gamer. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  20. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (1 October 2022). "Founding member of Disco Elysium developer claims core team members 'involuntarily' left the company". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  21. ↑ Laska, Karol (6 October 2022). "'Fans Have the Right to Know' - Disco Elysium Co-Creator Talks ZA/UM Losing With the System". Gamepressure.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  22. ↑ Batchelor, James (3 October 2022). "Three key members of Disco Elysium studio have left 'involuntarily'". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  23. 1 2 Bailey, Dustin (9 November 2022). "Fired Disco Elysium devs allege fraud, while the studio alleges toxic management". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on 9 November 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  24. ↑ Partis, Danielle (9 November 2022). "Disco Elysium studio ZA/UM confirms former employees were fired for misconduct". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 9 November 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  25. 1 2 Wutz, Marco (16 February 2024). "Last Disco Elysium writer laid off by ZA/UM speaks out". GLHF. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  26. ↑ Partis, Danielle (8 December 2022). "Lawsuit against ZA/UM majority shareholder withdrawn". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  27. 1 2 Litchfield, Ted (10 December 2022). "$4.8 million paid to ZA/UM and one lawsuit dropped as the battle over Disco Elysium continues". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  28. ↑ Wales, Matt (14 March 2023). "Disco Elysium studio says lawsuits from former members have been resolved". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  29. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (18 March 2023). "Disco Elysium studio declares 'resolution' of legal battle while two of its ousted founders insist the fight continues: 'they will not silence us'". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  30. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (14 March 2023). "ZA/UM resolves legal dispute with Disco Elysium producer Kaur Kender". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  31. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2 June 2023). "After watching the explosive documentary on Disco Elysium's legal battle, I can't fathom how Disco Elysium 2 will ever be made". PC Gamer. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  32. ↑ Egan, Toussaint (2 April 2025). "A would-be Disco Elysium expansion has leaked online, with lots of details". Polygon. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  33. ↑ Wutz, Marco (15 February 2024). "Sources: Disco Elysium dev ZA/UM to lay off around a quarter of its staff, cancels new game". GLHF. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  34. ↑ Wales, Matt (15 February 2024). "Disco Elysium standalone expansion reportedly cancelled and quarter of staff facing redundancy at ZA/UM". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  35. ↑ Egan, Toussaint (11 March 2025). "ZA/UM announces its mysterious, highly anticipated follow-up to Disco Elysium". Polygon. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  36. ↑ Colp, Tyler (24 September 2025). "We finally saw ZA/UM's Zero Parades in action and even though it's extremely Disco Elysium, the protagonist couldn't be more different". PC Gamer. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  37. 1 2 Colantonio, Giovanni (12 March 2026). "The Disco Elysium team brushes off expectations for all new original game: 'Pressure is a privilege'". Polygon. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  38. ↑ "Zero Parades: For Dead Spies — PC Critic Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  39. ↑ "ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies Reviews". OpenCritic. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
  40. ↑ Wakeling, Richard (18 May 2026). "Zero Parades: For Dead Spies Review - Cascading Choices". GameSpot. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  41. ↑ Bueno, Daniel (21 May 2026). "Review: Zero Parades Understands the Assignment". Siliconera. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  42. ↑ Rowe, Willa (17 July 2026). "Disco Elysium studio announces layoffs after new game flounders". Polygon. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
[edit]

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