Report: Disco Elysium Developer to Lay Off Around 25% of Staff, Cancels New Game - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 03 March 2024 / 4,453 Views
Disco Elysium developer ZA/UM looks like it will be hit with layoffs following the cancellation of project codenamed X7, according to sources close to matter who spoke with GLHF.
The sources say around 24 employees, which is about a quarter of the total workforce, will be laid off. The cancelled project was going to be a standalone expansion for Disco Elysium.
ZA/UM president Ed Tomaszewski said the cancelled project "was a game that was one to two years away from completion" and it could've taken "more time and effort than Disco Elysium did."
ZA/UM CEO Ilmar Kompus told staff of the cuts, according to the sources, and stated it will mostly affect "the X7 team but also our non-development teams and non-X7 projects."
The sources claim this is the third big project cancelled at the developer. This includes a sequel to Disco Elysium was cancelled in 2022 and development on a game set in a new sci-fi IP was paused last year.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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Damn that's pretty sad, you'd think they were sitting pretty considering how big a sucess their debut game was, but it does sound like a lot of people for an indie studio with 1 released game. They're actually still hiring on their website though...
sad news to hear from a good studio
so sad... Disco Elysium is a marterpiece, hope they can resume their games in a near future
Not much sales I guess.
Doesn't matter if u have universal acclaim from gamers and critics alike,
U need that dough!
If memory serves, the creators for Disco Elysium were already let go a year back or two no ? Doubt this new project would've had almost anything to do with that game. No matter, the cancellation of their new game is certainly not good news for the future of the studio ...
It was a good game, but I don't know if it needed a sequel or an expansion. I think this happens a lot when new studios have a big hit and don't necessarily have a good idea for what to do next.
Thats really ironic that the disco elysium studio will be firing people. Its sad though, I hope these people can find jobs anywhere else.
