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On October 1, 2022, the co-founder of the former ZA/UM Cultural Association and editor of Disco Elysium, Martin Luiga, announced the dissolution of said association. Reasons? Loss of values and ethos by ZA/UM studio somewhere along the way. He also recalled that other originators of the Elysium universe (and the cRPG created inside it) – namely, Robert Kurvitz, Helen Hindpere and Alexander Rostov – were pushed out of the studio in late 2021.
“The initial investor was Margus Linnamäe, a high-profile Estonian bussinesman active primarily in pharmacy, but also in other areas. I would personally think that Mr. Linnamäe has made it a bit of his personal mission that each Estonian community with any weight should owe him something. […] In the initial phase of the development, Kurvitz and Rostov enjoyed considerable artistic and organizational freedom.”
“I only worked at the company on the first year, and then a few months in 2021, and nothing overly important happened during that second period. I am unsure if I even had an NDA for my first period of working, I rather did not. Anyhow, I am super worried, but I am still not disclosing all information I have, and there is also information which I don’t have, and I am rather sure that we will not have the full picture before the final judgment.”
“I think already the fact that three prominent figures have been fired, while the fanbase would expect them to go on, is vital information, and it hadn’t been held a complete secret either. The thing is, I love truth, beauty, and justice.”
“I support political self-expression. How could I be against it, having engaged in it so much myself? My position was that the fans had a right to know. I do think though that it doesn’t make sense to be offensive against the current workers of the company. It is unlikely to change their positions. The managers have a way of making people trust them. Robert (Kurvitz) and others had complete trust in them until it was too late. It pays to remain polite, even if it’s hard – and I know that I have not been a very striking example at times.”
“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.”
“I think the three will continue making games** , as for myself, I haven’t decided the level of my involvement as of yet. Right now, it is mostly the phase of pondering ideas and managing our problems.”