Disco Elysium Devs Sue ZA/UM
Robert Kurvitz, creative director of Disco Elysium, has sued the Estonian studio ZA/UM. The case has to do with a recent scandal and the alleged involuntary departure of three people from the development team.
The affair concerning studio ZA/UM - developers of Disco Elysium - will move to an Estonian court. An information was noted on the official website of the state body about a case brought by Robert Kurvitz, the creative director of the said game, on behalf of his own company Telomer. Studio ZA/UM has been sued, but for now it is unclear for what exactly. The trial will take place on November 28, 2022.
This is, of course, the aftermath of the allegedly involuntary departure of of the leading creators of Disco Elysium - Martin Luigi (co-founder and secretary of the ZA/UM cultural association), Helen Hindpere (the game's lead writer) and Alexander Rostov (art director), and Kurvitz himself. Owners of ZA/UM did not deign it appropriate to directly refer to the affair, but Luiga outlined the problem quite extensively in an interview with our website.
It seems, that the subject of litigation may be the rights to the Disco Elysium IP. Currently they remain in the hands of ZA/UM, but Robert Kurvitz may want to change that in an attempt to deprive the company of at least part - or perhaps even all - of them. Why? There are indications, to believe that the brand has been illegally taken from the creators.
Kurvitz's goal is supposedly to conduct a document audit to prove this. It is possible that other former members of the development team will join the dispute - especially since we do not know exactly how many people have left (not counting the three mentioned above, as Luiga left much earlier).
It is difficult to predict how the whole situation will affect ZA/UM's operations. Until recently, it was conducting mass recruitment. Job offers suggested, that not only a sequel to Disco Elysium, but also an entirely new brand that will take players into space, are being worked on. However, recent communications from the developer started mentioning "another project" (in the singular).
