Image: ZA/UM
After being sued by considered one of its cofounders and accused of fraud, ZA/UM now says the lead author behind 2019’s hit RPG, Disco Elysium, was fired for skilled misconduct, together with gender discrimination and verbally abusing co-workers. It’s the newest twist in a messy saga concerning the indie studio behind one of the vital groundbreaking narrative video games of the final decade.
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It all began final month when Martin Luiga, a cofounder of the now-defunct Estonian artwork collective ZA/UM, revealed that members Robert Kurvitz, Aleksander Rostov, and Helen Hindpere had been not employed by the sport studio of the identical identify accountable for growing the critically acclaimed Disco Elysium. Luiga accused the studio’s enterprise leaders of ousting the creatives, and questioned what it meant for the sport’s potential sequel.
Kurvitz—who filed a lawsuit in late October—and Rostov now accuse two ZA/UM businessmen, CEO Ilmar Kompus and govt producer Tõnis Haavel, of committing fraud to take over the holding firm that owns the studio.
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“We have now learned that Tütreke OÜ must have obtained control over Zaum Studio OÜ by fraud,” the 2 wrote in a Medium submit. “We believe the money used by Tütreke OÜ to buy the majority stake was taken illegally from Zaum Studio OÜ itself, money that belonged to the studio and all shareholders but was used for the benefit of one. Money that should have gone towards making the sequel.”
ZA/UM now accuses Kurvitz of fostering a poisonous work surroundings and attempting to illegally promote the corporate’s mental property.
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“The rumor that our decision to terminate the contracts of these individuals was taken for financial gain is entirely unfounded and does not in any way reflect the facts,” the studio wrote in an announcement offered to GamesIndustry.biz. “It was a decision that had to be taken for the wellbeing of the collective.”
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The back-and-forth comes a day after a report within the Estonian newspaper Eesti Ekspress recommended Haavel was secretly answerable for the studio’s purse strings and top-level choice making. He denied it, and ZA/UM CEO Ilmar Kompus advised the newspaper Kurvitz had not been fired over monetary disagreements, however over a refusal to show in passable work and for treating colleagues poorly. Kompus went on to accuse Kurvitz particularly of belittling ladies up to now, and mentioned that after the corporate was made conscious it determined to take motion.
“While active litigation limits what we can share publicly, we believe additional information will provide a more accurate picture given our former employees have neglected to mention key facts to reporters, on blogs, and in other public platforms,” the studio elaborated in assertion to GamesIndustry.biz. It continued:
For readability and accuracy, we’re sharing the explanations for the justified firings of some former ZA/UM Studio staff members:
Limited to no engagement of their tasks and work – together with not working in any respect for nearly two years whereas nonetheless being paid by the studio – and forcing colleagues to compensate for his or her lack of effort.Creating a poisonous work surroundings that’s antithetical to the ZA/UM tradition and staff productiveness.Misconduct in interacting with different colleagues that features verbal abuse and gender discrimination.Attempts to illegally promote to different gaming firms ZA/UM’s mental property with the goal of undermining the remainder of the staff.Advertisement
When requested by Kotaku, a spokesperson for ZA/UM declined to elaborate past its authentic assertion, together with whether or not the allegations additionally utilized to Rostov in addition to Helen Hindpere, one other former Disco Elysium author who was reportedly pressured out by the studio. Rostov and Hindpere couldn’t instantly be reached for remark. Kurvitz didn’t instantly reply.
According to Eesti Ekspress, ZA/UM was rocked by disagreements between the enterprise and artistic leaders throughout the studio, and a supply described the acrimonious cut up to GamesIndustry.biz as, “CEO corporate scheming on one side, a toxic auteur on the other.” In addition, each the Eesti Ekspress report and Kurvitz and Rostov’s Medium submit paint a fancy image of overlapping firms and funding autos with ZA/UM and its sport growth future caught within the crossfire.
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Both sides now seem headed to courtroom. In the meantime, Kotaku understands the100-person studio to be busy attempting to buy round its subsequent venture for out of doors funding.
The full statements from ZA/UM, Kurvtiz, and Rostov are re-posted under.
ZA/UM:
ZA/UM Studio at this time launched an announcement to deal with latest staff dismissals which have sparked litigation and media protection: Our latest dismissal of some members of the ZA/UM Studio staff has led to authorized filings and inaccurate information protection. While we’re assured that ZA/UM will prevail in courtroom as soon as all of the information are heard, we imagine it’s essential to deal with baseless claims and falsehoods, if solely to rightly defend ZA/UM and shield our staff.
“While active litigation limits what we can share publicly, we believe additional information will provide a more accurate picture given our former employees have neglected to mention key facts to reporters, on blogs, and in other public platforms. For clarity and accuracy, we are sharing the reasons for the justified firings of some former ZA/UM Studio team members:
● Limited to no engagement in their responsibilities and work – including not working at all for almost two years while still being paid by the studio – and forcing colleagues to compensate for their lack of effort.
● Creating a toxic work environment that is antithetical to the ZA/UM culture and team productivity.
● Misconduct in interacting with other colleagues that includes verbal abuse and gender discrimination.
● Attempts to illegally sell to other gaming companies ZA/UM’s intellectual property with the aim of undermining the rest of the team.
“ZA/UM cannot and will not tolerate egregious misconduct, even from individuals who, along with the broader team, have contributed to a game that we are exceptionally proud of and that continues to capture imaginations across the globe. In addition to creativity and innovation, ZA/UM also stands for professionalism, kindness, decency, and fairness, which we expect from all our employees. It would be shortsighted to accept anything less, as we need team players for the highly collaborative process that is creating games.
“The rumour that our decision to terminate the contracts of these individuals was taken for financial gain is entirely unfounded and does not in any way reflect the facts. It was a decision that had to be taken for the wellbeing of the collective. Further, ZA/UM denies any claim of financial malfeasance or fraud that is being held against us. The vast majority of profits from Disco Elysium have been invested back into the studio in order to fund our next projects, which are currently in development.
“We will not let the actions and comments of a vocal few distract from the important work of the studio. ZA/UM has tripled in size from a year ago to nearly 100 employees while retaining the vast majority of the team that worked on Disco Elysium. We have built a passionate and creative team of staggering talent that continues to combine storytelling, art, and technology in our efforts to elevate video games and redefine genres. We are excited to forge on doing this with all the love and brilliance in our hearts and minds. We have so much more to show you.
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Kurvitz and Rostov:
We are Robert Kurvitz and Aleksander Rostov — the game director and art director of Disco Elysium. Our stake in the game exists in the form of minority shareholdings in an Estonian company called Zaum Studio OÜ, which owns everything related to the game. The majority of this company’s shares were initially held by Margus Linnamäe, an Estonian businessman and investor who provided the initial capital. In 2021, Linnamäe was bought out by another minority shareholder, an Estonian company Tütreke OÜ. Tütreke OÜ is a vehicle for two Estonian businessmen — Ilmar Kompus and Tõnis Haavel.
As minority shareholders our rights are limited. As long as Linnamäe remained the majority shareholder, we were confident that the company’s financials were in order and that all shareholders were being treated equally. The same can not be said for Kompus and Haavel. As soon as they became majority shareholders, we were quickly excluded from daily operations, our employment was terminated and our access to the company’s information was shut off. Our firing came weeks after we started asking for documents and financial data, which is still being kept from us.
We have now learned that Tütreke OÜ must have obtained control over Zaum Studio OÜ by fraud. We believe the money used by Tütreke OÜ to buy the majority stake was taken illegally from Zaum Studio OÜ itself, money that belonged to the studio and all shareholders but was used for the benefit of one. Money that should have gone towards making the sequel. We believe that these actions — which in our view, and the view of our lawyers, amount to criminal wrongdoing punishable by up to three years imprisonment — were perpetrated by Ilmar Kompus and Tõnis Haavel with support from Kaur Kender, another minority shareholder. This is hardly surprising given that Tõnis Haavel, who we believe to be the ringleader, has been convicted for defrauding investors on a different matter in 2007 [https://www.riigiteataja.ee/kohtulahendid/fail.html?fid=303963621].
We are now in the process of reviewing our legal options. Both civil claims and criminal charges are on the table — in Estonia and the United Kingdom.
Needless to say, it has been a very difficult time for us. After five years of gruelling work we released Disco Elysium, a game beloved by millions. As our reward, we were summarily fired and cut off from our life’s work — the world of Elysium. The company we built has been looted, while our own earnings are insufficient even to cover legal fees.
Until now, we’ve refrained from speaking out. This has been entirely voluntary, out of consideration for the people still working at ZA/UM — and for our own mental health. But given the severity of our suspicions — and the seriousness of the evidence we have — we think it’s time people knew what has transpired at the company.
We remain eternally thankful to all the fans of Disco Elysium, who have offered us invaluable moral support. We still believe in games, we still believe in ourselves — and we still believe in you. Millions of RPG fans have proven that games like Disco Elysium have a mass audience. This is a truly wonderous thing. No one can take that from us.
We also believe in what Harrier du Bois calls “the law”. It’s not excellent, but it surely’s there to guard those that create from those that take. And so it can.
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