A group of former ZA/UM employees have formed a disused studio, Cloudy Math Games, and are working on a spiritual successor to Disco Elysium.
The 20-person team describes itself as a “breakaway group from the original development team” behind the acclaimed 2019 RPG. One of the four founders is Timo Albert, who served as a vibrant fashion designer on the team. by Disco Elysium.
IGN also discovered, through data from the Corporate Area, that Cloudy Math’s active directors include Heiti Kender, brother of ZA/UM investor and Disco Elysium executive maker Kaur Kender.
Cloudy Math Games is recently releasing its debut game, XXX Nightshift, which it describes as a “true detective RPG” with a sci-fi atmosphere and “unique accompanying dynamics” that create alternate paths when solving situations.
In the announcement, Albert stated: “In addition to innovating traditional RPG mechanics, we will bring something new to the table. You’ll see. And of course, a few less words. And a few more bullet points, perhaps. In total: much more fun.”
The unveiling of Cloudy Math follows information this morning that another team of former Disco Elysium developers has also set up a UK studio, Longdue. We spoke to the team about their debut project (another religious successor) and the impact of the dispute between ZA and UM.
With these two studio announcements, there are actually three developers running on games similar to Disco Elysium.
The third is Red News Ltd, founded in June 2022 by Disco Elysium project leader Robert Kurvitz and prominent artist Aleksander Rostov, who became interested in a dispute between ZA and UM and later claimed they were unfairly excluded. of the company. PC Gamer reported that the studio was created with the backing of Chinese author NetEase.
Kaur Kender, who may be listed as a director of Cloudy Math Games but is marked “resigned” rather than active, previously filed a lawsuit against ZA/UM and its CEO Ilmar Kompus for alleged embezzlement of 4.8 euros. millions of corporate budget to illegally acquire a majority percentage within the studio.
This prison dispute was resolved in March 2023, when Kender removed the suit and was ordered in court to pay Kompus’ prison charges.
For more information on the prison fight in Disco Elysium, you should definitely follow the in-depth investigation through Public Build Video Games.
