On March 14, Eurogamer (opens in new tab) and GamesIndustry.biz (opens in new tab) reported a ZA/UM press release with founding member and Disco Elysium producer Kaur Kender In addition to declaring the resolution of the legal dispute, it also announced that the wrongful termination lawsuit against Disco Elysium project leader Robert Kurvitz and lead artist Aleksander Rostov had been dismissed for lack of evidence. Kurvitz and "Sander Taal" (which, according to GamesIndustry.biz, is a pseudonym used by Rostov) have since responded and stated that they will continue to pursue legal action. Meanwhile, ZA/UM released its first content update for Disco Elysium since the December 2021 "Jamais Vu" patch.

This is the first public development in this story since ZA/UM CEO Ilmar Kompus repaid the company €4.8 million and Disco Elysium producer Kaur Kender dropped her own lawsuit against the developer (new tab opens in new tab). In ZA/UM's first press release this week, Kender says he has paid Kompus his legal fees, and GamesIndustry.biz features a seemingly regretful message from the writer and entrepreneur:

" Disco Elysium' is a success, and I am grateful for the years of trust and cooperation with the team that made it a success," Kender told GamesIndustry.biz." After leaving my full-time position, I filed a lawsuit, but when I saw the facts, I realized it was misguided."

ZA/UM further states that Kulwitz and Rostov's "wrongful termination" claim against the company was dropped due to "lack of evidence," but this appears to be only part of the full lawsuit against the company, which still faces "a series of unfounded claims from former employees" . will collapse under legal and factual scrutiny."

Representatives for Kulbitz and Rostov shared a four-part statement with PC Gamer in response to ZA/UM's claims. The press release is "incorrect and misleading in several respects and attempts to unfairly treat us (ZA/UM's remaining minority shareholders, Robert Kulwitz and Sander Thal) as mere disgruntled employees.

Kulwitz and Rostov further deny that their employment claims against ZA/UM were dropped for lack of evidence. They state, "No, it was not. Our dismissal is part of a larger campaign against us, and we intend to pursue legal recourse accordingly."

The two have also denied that the dismissal of the ZA/UM claim is a part of a larger campaign against them.

The two also noted the strange situation surrounding the 4.8 million euros returned to ZA/UM by the Combs CEO, which was the subject of Carl Kender's lawsuit." Kender's lawsuit is based on the misuse of ZA/UM funds (€4.8 million) by major shareholders Combs and Habel to increase their own holdings." Kulbitz and Rostov explained. In their press release, Kompus and Haavel admit to this misuse, claiming only that the funds were "repaid to ZA/UM." However, returning stolen money does not cancel out the crime.

"Compass and Harvel have silenced Kender on this issue, but they cannot silence us. Unlike Kender, we did not participate in the looting of ZA/UM, and Compass and Harvell have no power over us."

The last point paints Kender as an adversary of Kurvitz, Rostov, and Hindpere (the latter is not a party to the lawsuit but shows support for her fellow developers). In a Medium post last year, Rostov, jointly with two others, stated that the expulsion and misappropriation of 4.8 million euros "was carried out by Ilmar Kompas and Tonis Havel, with the support of another minority shareholder, Kur Kender."

Two days after ZA/UM's initial press release, the company released a "collage mode" (opens in new tab) for the game. By itself, this would have been nothing out of the ordinary, but its timing coinciding with the new developments in the legal battle over ZA/UM has sparked a passionate response from fans of Disco Elysium.

One of the highest-rated posts (opens in new tab) on the Disco Elysium subreddit over the past few days uses the new mode to tout the new feature with a corporate minion character from the game, while other posts encourage fans to pirate the game. Reactions to the announcement of the collage mode on Twitter (opens in new tab) show that many have criticized it as a synchronicity clash with the game, or a distraction from the ongoing legal dispute over the ownership of Disco Elysium. One reply was simply a screenshot of a character named Joyce Messier tweeting about how criticism of capitalism can only result in strengthening capitalism, paralleling the politics and current state of the game.

For now, as before, the future of one of our favorite games remains uncertain; ZA/UM is hiring, but with Kulwitz and Rostov still litigating, it is unclear how much leeway the studio has.