When Disco Elysium launched in 2019 to critical and commercial acclaim, some said it had the greatest writing ever in a video game. What’s gone on since between the people who made it, well... you couldn’t make it up.
Five years later, many of the creators of Disco Elysium have struck out on their own, leaving original developer ZA/UM behind to either make spiritual successors or different games entirely. You'd think everyone would be happy getting on with the making of their new games, but lawsuits (both resolved and some ongoing), legal threats, and behind-the-scenes finger pointing have added an element of farce to proceedings.
Then last month, a total of three studios each claiming to be carrying the Disco Elysium torch in one way or another popped up out of nowhere on the same day. What are the chances?
Who are the people behind these studios? And why, behind the scenes, are they at each other’s throats? What involvement does ZA/UM have, if any? And why is everyone talking about the canceled Disco Elysium follow-up floating about on a USB stick?
It’s a complex and messy situation, one I’ve been trying to wrap my head around for the last month. But now I believe I can offer helpful answers.
The main player in this story is Argo Tuulik, one of the original writers on Disco Elysium and co-founder of new studio Summer Eternal. Tuulik resigned from ZA/UM earlier this year (Tuulik confirmed to IGN that he resigned, as opposed to being fired or being made redundant as has been reported). He did so, he said, before a disciplinary hearing during which he expected to be terminated. Why? Because, he alleged, of statements he gave to the press about redundancies at ZA/UM that followed the February cancelation of the standalone follow-up to Disco Elysium, codenamed X7. Tuulik was one of the key creatives behind X7 before it fell by the wayside.
If he had survived that meeting, Tuulik suspected he would have been made redundant, he told IGN. “It was an ‘unemployed man walking'-type of situation either way,” he said.
Enter Dark Math Games and Longdue Games, two new London-based studios with former Disco Elysium staff each working on a different spiritual successor of their own. Tech entrepreneur Riaz Moola, another significant player in this story, founded Longdue via his company CoGrammar, and is an investor in Dark Math, so has a stake in both companies’ success.
IGN understands Tuulik and fellow Summer Eternal co-founder and former ZA/UM developer Dora Klindžić worked at both CoGrammar and Dark Math this year, but left each studio after a short period under a cloud. In the case of CoGrammar, Tuulik resigned. Tuulik left Dark Math after the company declined to renew his contract, IGN understands.
Dark Math is helmed by Kaur Kender, an early investor in ZA/UM and executive producer of Disco Elysium. In March 2023, a bitter legal dispute between Kender and ZA/UM over ownership of the coveted Disco Elysium IP was resolved, with a court ordering Kender to repay ZA/UM CEO Ilmar Kompus for legal fees. Dark Math’s game is called XXX NIGHTSHIFT and, like Disco Elysium, is described as a ‘true detective RPG.’ It looks remarkably like Disco Elysium.
Longdue, however, hasn’t named its “new psychological RPG” or the majority of the people making it. But it is already embroiled in a war of words with Tuulik that has spilled out into the public domain.
Events ramped up when Tuulik publicly revealed legal action against him by ZA/UM, and against he and Klindžić by Riaz Moola’s CoGrammar. On the latter, CoGrammar successfully obtained an injunction in the Business and Property courts of England and Wales on the basis of breach of contract, preventing Argo and Dora from working on anything at Summer Eternal — Disco Elysium spiritual successor or otherwise — until April 2025.
Tuulik then accused ZA/UM of making “baseless” legal threats against him, and for “collaborating” with Moola to take him, Dora, Summer Eternal, and even Dark Math on. Tuulik has denied any conflict with Dark Math.
“I never wanted to make Disco again but the absurdity of someone completely unrelated to Disco being granted the protection of the high court in their spiritual successor pursuit is not lost on me,” Tuulik told IGN.
It’s worth trying to unpack all of this. So, what breach of contract is Tuulik talking about with regards CoGrammar? According to documentation reviewed by IGN, Tuulik served CoGrammar with his notice of resignation on September 23, 2024, with his last day on September 30. Tuulik was working for CoGrammar as a consultant on Longdue's game.
CoGrammar told IGN it offered to release Tuulik and Klindžić from contractual restrictions that block the pair from working for another studio, or even one of their own, for a six-month period after leaving the company. However, CoGrammar alledge, Tuulik and Klindžić declined to sign CoGrammar's release contract, which also included clauses that would have confirmed the pair didn't still have IP belonging to the company, and a commitment not to talk about each other in the press (an End of Service, Non Communication, and Release Of Portion of Restraint of Trade contract).
Soon after, as IGN has reported, Tuulik and Klindžić announced Summer Eternal and revealed plans to develop a new game on the same day Longdue and Dark Math announced their projects.
CoGrammar / Longdue issued a statement of its own in response to Tuulik’s tweets about the court case. It is reproduced in full below:
Following public comments made by Argo Tuulik, we can confirm that an independent judge has ruled in Longdue’s favor in a court hearing over a week ago. We have tried to deal with this matter privately for the sake of everyone involved, but given Argo’s public comments we feel it is necessary to respond to clarify some key facts.
Argo Tuulik was a part of Longdue’s team in the early days of Longdue’s formation, as well as previously Dark Math. However, as a studio, we have since grown in a direction that did not align with his approach.
We are a team that values integrity and honoring agreements, and as such, we were disappointed to see Argo breach agreements we had in place after leaving Longdue. Longdue continued to make attempts to settle matters amicably with Argo privately in spite of these breaches. These efforts were repeatedly rebuffed, leaving Longdue with no other option but to ask the courts to intervene. An independent judge has ruled in our favor.
Finding ourselves in this position is disheartening. We did not want to take legal action and we did not want this to become public for the sake of everyone involved. However, there are times when taking action is necessary to protect our work, the team we’ve built, and the agreements we’ve made.
Our goal from the outset was to move beyond the conflicts that have followed the people that worked on Disco Elysium since its release by supporting and uplifting each other as a community of studios making great RPGs. That remains the case and we hope to settle this matter amicably with Argo so that everyone can move forward.Given Argo’s comments, we would like to clarify that ZA/UM was in no way involved in this legal action. This legal action was taken because of agreements between Argo and Longdue that were broken by Argo. Any legal dispute Argo may have with ZA/UM is a matter for those two parties.
We respect the contributions of Argo during Longdue’s early stages, and we hope fans will continue to support all studios that have been inspired by narrative-rich RPG games such as Disco Elysium and Planescape Torment.
Thank you to everyone who has shown support for Longdue. We will continue to create a studio environment that fosters creativity, collaboration, and respect as we remain focused on crafting impactful, meaningful RPGs for our players.
That’s Longdue / CoGrammar, but what about ZA/UM? Tuulik also made public a letter dated October 10 by lawyers representing ZA/UM, or, to give it its full business name, Zaum Studio Limited, that includes a legal complaint. It alleges breach of contract, breach of confidentiality, and copyright infringement. This isn’t a notice of a lawsuit, but it sounds extremely serious. So, what’s it all about?
Multiple sources at Longdue / CoGrammar and Dark Math, speaking anonymously to protect their careers, have told IGN that Tuulik allegedly demoed the canceled Disco Elysium follow-up, codenamed X7, to staff via a USB stick containing a playable, 20-minute build. Speaking to IGN, Tuulik denied the accusation, calling it "absurd."
A ZA/UM representative issued IGN with the following statement:
ZA/UM's only communication with Mr. Tuulik has been a standard legal notice — not a lawsuit and issued only after third parties alerted us — regarding the return and destruction of confidential game materials. While Mr. Tuulik was a significant contributor, these materials represent the collaborative work of many developers and were not authorized for external use.
As if that wasn’t wild enough, this story only gets weirder from here. As I’ve mentioned, Tuulik and Klindžić’s contract with Dark Math, where they were game director and narrative director on XXX NIGHTSHIFT, wasn’t renewed, so both left the company and went on to work for CoGrammar. IGN has viewed documentation dated July 2024 confirming the termination of the contracts “due to creative differences.” But why?
IGN can reveal that while at Dark Math, Tuulik accused Kaur Kender of showing naked photos of Kender’s ex-wife to him and other staff at the studio. Tuulik confirmed to IGN he made this allegation. However, Kender - and other Dark Math staff IGN has spoken to - denied that Kender's ex-wife appeared naked in the photos. Rather, she was wearing a bikini in some and fully clothed in others.
But why do this in the first place? Sources say Kender allegedly wanted the photos of his ex-wife to act as real-life inspirations for characters in XXX NIGHTSHIFT. However, Tuulik alleged internally that the photos included naked pictures of Kender's ex-wife, a series of events that contributed to the end of Tuulik and Klindžić’s time at Dark Math.
Dark Math issued IGN with the following statement: "Dark Math Games will not be commenting on the past. We are focusing our energy and passions on the development of XXX Nightshift and look forward to sharing more on the game in due course."
All this leaves these Disco Elysium spiritual successors in a precarious position. And I haven’t even mentioned Red Info, the studio set up by the two main creative forces behind Disco Elysium: lead writer Robert Kurvitz and art director Aleksander Rostov. Both were fired from ZA/UM in 2022 amid allegations of mismanagement and misconduct. Kurvitz and Rostov are reportedly making a new game of their own at Red Info, which is backed by Chinese internet company NetEase.
As for Tuulik and Klindžić, they face a six-month wait until they’re legally allowed to work on Summer Eternal and its game. What’s clear is 2024 has been particularly turbulent for the pair. They left three studios under less than ideal circumstances just this year alone, after just a few months in the case of two. Tuulik, who former colleagues describe as hugely talented but at times difficult to work with, pointed to PC Gamer’s reporting, which called both he and Klindžić “thoughtful, professional collaborators" during their time at ZA/UM.
Meanwhile, the future of Disco Elysium is still up in the air. Rights holder ZA/UM has yet to announce a new game in the series, or any new game at all. Longdue has issued one piece of concept art for its spiritual successor. Dark Math’s XXX NIGHTSHIFT has a trailer and screenshots, which makes it at least feel tangible. Red Info hasn’t said a word throughout all this.
Like Disco Elysium itself, these companies are fighting to win the hearts and minds of players as behind-the-scenes drama spills out into the public domain. Perhaps, given the chaotic scenes that followed ZA/UM after Disco Elysium’s release, things were always going to go this way.
The question is, who will get Disco Elysium spiritual successor to market first? And when they do, will there be any community left to care?
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
