ZA/UM’s New RPG Is Similar To Disco Elysium Because ‘We're Still the Same People’

Take 1 look astatine Zero Parades: For Dead Spies, the upcoming RPG from ZA/UM, and you tin instantly spot the similarities betwixt it and the studio’s erstwhile game, Disco Elysium. It’s an isometric crippled with a striking creation style, featuring dialogue-heavy gameplay wherever conversations are displayed vertically connected the right-hand broadside of the screen.

Take a person look and determination are adjacent much similarities. There’s a “Conditioning” strategy that replicates galore of the functions of Disco Elysium’s unsocial Thought Cabinet. Its communicative aims to beryllium profoundly governmental and introspective. And past there’s the skills system, which manifests arsenic a sentient interior monologue, commenting connected your choices and the satellite astir you.

For immoderate Disco Elysium fans, this overlap whitethorn consciousness uneasy. In 2022, crippled manager Robert Kurvitz and creation manager Aleksander Rostov – creatives cardinal to the look, feel, and imaginativeness of the celebrated RPG – were among a fig of unit who near the workplace successful an "involuntary" manner. ZA/UM claimed they were fired for misconduct, portion Kurvitz and Rostov accused the company’s bulk shareholders of fraud. Many fans judge those fired to beryllium victims of firm conspiracy. Those aforesaid fans whitethorn present beryllium acrophobic to spot the workplace gathering a Disco Elysium successor based connected specified akin plan foundations without the engagement of those archetypal creatives.

In a caller interview, IGN discussed these concerns with Jim Ashilevi, writer and VO manager astatine ZA/UM, and asked wherefore the workplace didn’t see uncovering a caller absorption for Zero Parades.

“I deliberation it would person made consciousness for america to spell successful a wholly antithetic absorption if the full squad was comprised of caller talent,” Ashilevi said. “But since specified a ample fig of the cardinal players that built Disco Elysium are present to physique Zero Parades, it conscionable didn't marque consciousness for america to conscionable disregard that portion of our acquisition arsenic amateur crippled makers and commencement learning caller ways of telling stories.”

ZA/UM’s caput of studio, Allen Murray, estimates that astir 35% of the studio’s existent unit roster is made up of radical who worked connected either the archetypal mentation of Disco Elysium oregon the expanded “Final Cut” release. The studio’s full unit numbers astir 90.

“We're inactive the aforesaid people,” Ashilevi continued. “We inactive person the aforesaid interests. The worldly that interests america successful the satellite of video games, but besides successful different media – successful movie and lit and theatre – that hasn't changed. Hopefully it has evolved, but I deliberation we're inactive fundamentally the aforesaid people.

“We're conscionable going by our gut, basically, and we're pursuing our ain obsessions,” helium said. “And a batch of that was contiguous successful Disco Elysium. It volition beryllium contiguous successful Zero Parades arsenic well, mostly owed to the information that those are the aforesaid radical who were determination to physique that chill world.”

In a erstwhile interrogation with members of ZA/UM, which took spot conscionable anterior to Gamescom 2025, IGN asked Ashilevi and pb method creator Nicolas Pirot however they felt astir fans who whitethorn beryllium feeling cautious astir a caller ZA/UM RPG pursuing the departures of Kurvitz, Rostov, and others.

“I recognize wherefore immoderate radical mightiness person reservations,” said Pirot. “It's not up to maine to archer them what to deliberation oregon what to experience. I deliberation what we are trying to bash is archer an unthinkable story. And I deliberation each we tin bash is anticipation that, erstwhile Zero Parades is ready, that radical similar it capable to enactment and to spot who we are arsenic a group.”

“We are present to constitute much stories,” Ashilevi added. “That's each we're present for. And if that upsets radical oregon makes them consciousness cautious, fair. But determination is simply a caller crippled coming retired soon and I anticipation you cheque it out. And if you don't similar it, that's fine. That's wholly fine.”

ZA/UM intends to motorboat Zero Parades this year. An espionage RPG themed astir powerfulness struggles and failure, the squad hopes it volition basal chiseled from Disco Elysium without “fully re-inventing the wheel.”

Matt Purslow is IGN's Executive Editor of Features.