Disco Elysium was going to have an expansion, now it has a staff cut

Disco Elysium was the 2019 GOTY. And for good reasons. It is the most innovative western RPG of the last decade, a prodigy in terms of art, narrative and design, and it remains an unmatched video game. It is also true that, since its release, everything we have heard from its developers, ZA/UM, has not been good news. And it seems that, in fact, things have gotten worse.

According to Sports Illustrated, ZA/UM has canceled an expansion of Disco Elysium, codenamed X7. However, they have learned that this would be the third project they have paused or indefinitely canceled since the game’s release. A sequel to the original game was canceled in 2022 and a new science fiction IP was indefinitely paused in 2023. Due to this cancellation, there are now 24 employees at ZA/UM at risk of redundancy, which means their jobs could disappear at any time.

This will lead to a restructuring, as stated by the study, to support its two projects still in development. With codenames C4 and M0. Something that has been questioned, given that there have already been several layoffs in the past of key individuals, such as all the people involved in the key positions of the original game’s production.

Considering that the current CEO of ZA/UM is not the same as when Disco Elysium was released and that the franchise IP was taken away from its creators, it is doubtful that this will end well. Or as stated by the lead writer Dora Klindžić, who joined ZA/UM after the new CEOs Ilmar Kompus and Tõnis Haavel came to power, “it was like being born in 90s Yugoslavia: you missed the party and now there’s only bloodshed left”.