Disco Elysium is considered one of the best games of all time, despite its youth. An exceptional CRPG which has established itself as a great entry-level classic. Unfortunately, nothing is going well within the studio.
It’s an understatement to say that Disco Elysium turned heads when it launched in 2019 on PC. In our columns, he received a 10/10 which quite simply corresponds to a masterpiece. “One of the best RPGs ever made”. In the meantime, console gamers have the pleasure of experiencing it. But the future of the license as well as the developers is more than in danger.
Between cancellations and layoffs for the Disco Elysium studio
News about ZA/UM, the studio of Disco Elysium, are not good at all. A few hours ago, the media GLHF on Sports Illustrated threw a wrench into the mix. According to their sources, the company’s managers have made the decision to scrap yet another project. An expansion, known as “X7”, which should have been a massive standalone DLC to Disco Elysium. And in the process, the CEO would have fired a quarter of the workforce, which represents around 24 employees. And unfortunately, this is not a false rumor.
Since publication, former employees such as screenwriters Argo Tuulik and Dora Klindžić have come out of silence. And both describe a toxic and unstable situation. “The last two months on the canceled Disco Elysium expansion have been filled with crunch, burnout and conflict” (via Eurogamer) said Dora Klindžić. Worse, according to her, the people most affected by these dismissals are those who denounced intolerable working conditions. According to him, the employees received a letter containing a notation which referred to these dismissals.
“What remains of ZA/UM is a cold, careless society, where leaders have gone to war against their own creatives. A business where art comes second to ownership, and there is an arrogant disregard for their own audience.” added Argo Tuulik, the screenwriter of Disco Elysium (via videogames.si).
To further darken the picture, Tuulik reports a very present sexism where women do not have their place in important positions. Some would have capitulated when the game was released, while others would have been pushed to leave. In addition to the cancellation of this expansion, a Disco Elysium 2 would have been canceled in 2022, and a new franchise would also have been abandoned in 2023.