Summary

  • Former Disco Elysium developers have formed three new studios, all working on different RPGs.
  • This comes as Disco Elysium developer, ZA/UM, has been unable to launch a sequel amidst issues behind the scenes.
  • One of the new studios already has a game trailer. Another has shared a lengthy manifesto about the state of the industry.

Disco Elysium was a huge hit, but since then, developer ZA/UM hasn't been able to put another game out, save Disco Elysium: The Final Cut in 2021. As we now know, things were a mess behind the scenes, with three key figures behind the original game pushed out of the company two years ago. This led to a legal dispute, which has held up the development of Disco Elysium 2. Couple that with some layoffs that reportedly led to an expansion being cancelled, and it's safe to assume we won't be getting that sequel anytime soon.

However, that doesn't mean that the people who made Disco Elysium aren't interested in developing new games. Yesterday, within the space of 24 hours, three new projects from former Disco Elysium devs were revealed - all coming from three different studios.

Three New Studios Formed By Former Disco Elysium Developers

First up, we have Longdue Games Studios, who we covered yesterday morning. This 12-person studio is made up of some former ZA/UM devs, with others coming from Bungie and Rockstar. Its debut game will be a "psychogeographic RPG", with the studio naming Ultima and Fallout as its inspirations.

Then, Dark Math Games emerged. However, this reveal had much more to show for itself, already having a trailer for its first game, XXX Nightshift. Unsurprisingly, it's very, very reminiscent of Disco Elysium, as the trailer focuses on its narrative and dialogue system.

After this, just as many of us were reeling from two Disco Elysium successors hitting the scene, another was revealed. In perhaps the most fitting fashion, the studio Summer Eternal revealed itself to the world alongside a manifesto, referring to the struggles that workers are facing in the gaming industry right now.

"We recognize we are writing the opening words of our story at a time of apocalyptic material conditions for game creators across the world," reads a statement on Summer Eternal's website. "Our art has been dressed down into an industry, and this industry has been pilfered by corrupt executives, by the vulgar profiteering of corporate bodies moving like leviathans in the dark, burning human fuel in their insatiable lust for money.

"It is not pencil-pushers and moneylenders who make games. It is the relentless passion of the workers that creates an art form capable of saying something true."

Summer Eternal says it will work on an RPG with "complexity and ambition" that rivals our "wretched and wonderful world." It remains to be seen what this game ends up looking like.

Of course, ZA/UM still exists, so we might see something from that studio too. Then, there's another studio formed by two of the leads who were pushed out of ZA/UM, kicking this all off in the first place. For those of you keeping track at home, that's five projects coming from the wreckage of ZA/UM as we once knew it, although we haven't seen much of any of them just yet.

4.5/5 Disco Elysium Like Follow Followed RPG Systems OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 92/100 Critics Rec: 96% Released October 15, 2019 ESRB M For Mature 17+ due to Blood, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs, Violence Developer(s) ZA/UM Publisher(s) ZA/UM Engine Unity
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Disco Elysium first launched in 2019 and sees you play the role of a detective investigating a murder. Critically acclaimed for its themes, art style, and largely combat-free gameplay, with a more complete version of the game, The Final Cut, launched in 2021.

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