After being sued by 1 of its cofounders and accused of fraud, ZA/UM present says the pb writer down 2019’s deed RPG, Disco Elysium, was fired for nonrecreational misconduct, including sex favoritism and verbally abusing co-workers. It’s the latest twist successful a messy saga astir the indie workplace down 1 of the astir groundbreaking communicative games of the past decade.

It each started past period erstwhile Martin Luiga, a cofounder of the now-defunct Estonian creation corporate ZA/UM, revealed that members Robert Kurvitz, Aleksander Rostov, and Helen Hindpere were nary longer employed by the crippled workplace of the aforesaid sanction liable for processing the critically acclaimed Disco Elysium. Luiga accused the studio’s concern leaders of ousting the creatives, and questioned what it meant for the game’s imaginable sequel.

Kurvitz—who filed a suit successful precocious October—and Rostov present impeach 2 ZA/UM businessmen, CEO Ilmar Kompus and enforcement shaper Tõnis Haavel, of committing fraud to instrumentality implicit the holding institution that owns the studio.

“We person present learned that Tütreke OÜ indispensable person obtained power implicit Zaum Studio OÜ by fraud,” the 2 wrote successful a Medium post. “We judge the wealth utilized by Tütreke OÜ to bargain the bulk involvement was taken illegally from Zaum Studio OÜ itself, wealth that belonged to the workplace and each shareholders but was utilized for the payment of one. Money that should person gone towards making the sequel.”

ZA/UM present accuses Kurvitz of fostering a toxic enactment situation and trying to illegally merchantability the company’s intelligence property.

“The rumor that our determination to terminate the contracts of these individuals was taken for fiscal summation is wholly unfounded and does not successful immoderate mode bespeak the facts,” the workplace wrote successful a connection provided to GamesIndustry.biz. “It was a determination that had to beryllium taken for the wellbeing of the collective.”

The back-and-forth comes a time aft a study successful the Estonian paper Eesti Ekspress suggested Haavel was secretly successful complaint of the studio’s purse strings and top-level determination making. He denied it, and ZA/UM CEO Ilmar Kompus told the paper Kurvitz had not been fired implicit fiscal disagreements, but implicit a refusal to crook successful satisfactory enactment and for treating colleagues poorly. Kompus went connected to impeach Kurvitz specifically of belittling women successful the past, and said that erstwhile the institution was made alert it decided to instrumentality action.

“While progressive litigation limits what we tin stock publicly, we judge further accusation volition supply a much close representation fixed our erstwhile employees person neglected to notation cardinal facts to reporters, connected blogs, and successful different nationalist platforms,” the workplace elaborated successful connection to GamesIndustry.biz. It continued:

For clarity and accuracy, we are sharing the reasons for the justified firings of immoderate erstwhile ZA/UM Studio squad members:

• Limited to nary engagement successful their responsibilities and enactment – including not moving astatine each for astir 2 years portion inactive being paid by the workplace – and forcing colleagues to compensate for their deficiency of effort.
• Creating a toxic enactment situation that is antithetical to the ZA/UM civilization and squad productivity.
• Misconduct successful interacting with different colleagues that includes verbal maltreatment and sex discrimination.
• Attempts to illegally merchantability to different gaming companies ZA/UM’s intelligence spot with the purpose of undermining the remainder of the team.

When asked by Kotaku, a spokesperson for ZA/UM declined to elaborate beyond its archetypal statement, including whether the allegations besides applied to Rostov arsenic good arsenic Helen Hindpere, different erstwhile Disco Elysium writer who was reportedly forced retired by the studio. Rostov and Hindpere could not instantly beryllium reached for comment. Kurvitz did not instantly respond.

According to Eesti Ekspress, ZA/UM was rocked by disagreements betwixt the concern and originative leaders wrong the studio, and a root described the acrimonious divided to GamesIndustry.biz as, “CEO firm scheming connected 1 side, a toxic auteur connected the other.” In addition, some the Eesti Ekspress report and Kurvitz and Rostov’s Medium station overgarment a analyzable representation of overlapping companies and concern vehicles with ZA/UM and its crippled improvement aboriginal caught successful the crossfire.

Both sides present look headed to court. In the meantime, Kotaku understands the100-person workplace to beryllium engaged trying to store astir its adjacent task for extracurricular funding.

The afloat statements from ZA/UM, Kurvtiz, and Rostov are re-posted below.

ZA/UM:

ZA/UM Studio contiguous released a connection to code caller squad dismissals that person sparked litigation and media coverage: Our caller dismissal of a fewer members of the ZA/UM Studio squad has led to ineligible filings and inaccurate quality coverage. While we are assured that ZA/UM volition prevail successful tribunal erstwhile each the facts are heard, we judge it is indispensable to code baseless claims and falsehoods, if lone to rightly support ZA/UM and support our employees.

“While progressive litigation limits what we tin stock publicly, we judge further accusation volition supply a much close representation fixed our erstwhile employees person neglected to notation cardinal facts to reporters, connected blogs, and successful different nationalist platforms. For clarity and accuracy, we are sharing the reasons for the justified firings of immoderate erstwhile ZA/UM Studio squad members:

● Limited to nary engagement successful their responsibilities and enactment – including not moving astatine each for astir 2 years portion inactive being paid by the workplace – and forcing colleagues to compensate for their deficiency of effort.

● Creating a toxic enactment situation that is antithetical to the ZA/UM civilization and squad productivity.

● Misconduct successful interacting with different colleagues that includes verbal maltreatment and sex discrimination.

● Attempts to illegally merchantability to different gaming companies ZA/UM’s intelligence spot with the purpose of undermining the remainder of the team.

“ZA/UM cannot and volition not tolerate egregious misconduct, adjacent from individuals who, on with the broader team, person contributed to a crippled that we are exceptionally arrogant of and that continues to seizure imaginations crossed the globe. In summation to creativity and innovation, ZA/UM besides stands for professionalism, kindness, decency, and fairness, which we expect from each our employees. It would beryllium shortsighted to judge thing less, arsenic we request squad players for the highly collaborative process that is creating games.

“The rumour that our determination to terminate the contracts of these individuals was taken for fiscal summation is wholly unfounded and does not successful immoderate mode bespeak the facts. It was a determination that had to beryllium taken for the wellbeing of the collective. Further, ZA/UM denies immoderate assertion of fiscal malfeasance oregon fraud that is being held against us. The immense bulk of profits from Disco Elysium person been invested backmost into the workplace successful bid to money our adjacent projects, which are presently successful development.

“We volition not fto the actions and comments of a vocal fewer distract from the important enactment of the studio. ZA/UM has tripled successful size from a twelvemonth agone to astir 100 employees portion retaining the immense bulk of the squad that worked connected Disco Elysium. We person built a passionate and originative squad of staggering endowment that continues to harvester storytelling, art, and exertion successful our efforts to elevate video games and redefine genres. We are excited to forge connected doing this with each the emotion and brilliance successful our hearts and minds. We person truthful overmuch much to amusement you.

Kurvitz and Rostov:

We are Robert Kurvitz and Aleksander Rostov — the crippled manager and creation manager of Disco Elysium. Our involvement successful the crippled exists successful the signifier of number shareholdings successful an Estonian institution called Zaum Studio OÜ, which owns everything related to the game. The bulk of this company’s shares were initially held by Margus Linnamäe, an Estonian businessman and capitalist who provided the archetypal capital. In 2021, Linnamäe was bought retired by different number shareholder, an Estonian institution Tütreke OÜ. Tütreke OÜ is simply a conveyance for 2 Estonian businessmen — Ilmar Kompus and Tõnis Haavel.

As number shareholders our rights are limited. As agelong arsenic Linnamäe remained the bulk shareholder, we were assured that the company’s financials were successful bid and that each shareholders were being treated equally. The aforesaid tin not beryllium said for Kompus and Haavel. As soon arsenic they became bulk shareholders, we were rapidly excluded from regular operations, our employment was terminated and our entree to the company’s accusation was unopen off. Our firing came weeks aft we started asking for documents and fiscal data, which is inactive being kept from us.

We person present learned that Tütreke OÜ indispensable person obtained power implicit Zaum Studio OÜ by fraud. We judge the wealth utilized by Tütreke OÜ to bargain the bulk involvement was taken illegally from Zaum Studio OÜ itself, wealth that belonged to the workplace and each shareholders but was utilized for the payment of one. Money that should person gone towards making the sequel. We judge that these actions — which successful our view, and the presumption of our lawyers, magnitude to transgression wrongdoing punishable by up to 3 years imprisonment — were perpetrated by Ilmar Kompus and Tõnis Haavel with enactment from Kaur Kender, different number shareholder. This is hardly astonishing fixed that Tõnis Haavel, who we judge to beryllium the ringleader, has been convicted for defrauding investors connected a antithetic substance successful 2007 [https://www.riigiteataja.ee/kohtulahendid/fail.html?fid=303963621].

We are present successful the process of reviewing our ineligible options. Both civilian claims and transgression charges are connected the array — successful Estonia and the United Kingdom.

Needless to say, it has been a precise hard clip for us. After 5 years of gruelling enactment we released Disco Elysium, a crippled beloved by millions. As our reward, we were summarily fired and chopped disconnected from our life’s enactment — the satellite of Elysium. The institution we built has been looted, portion our ain net are insufficient adjacent to screen ineligible fees.

Until now, we’ve refrained from speaking out. This has been wholly voluntary, retired of information for the radical inactive moving astatine ZA/UM — and for our ain intelligence health. But fixed the severity of our suspicions — and the seriousness of the grounds we person — we deliberation it’s clip radical knew what has transpired astatine the company.

We stay eternally thankful to each the fans of Disco Elysium, who person offered america invaluable motivation support. We inactive judge successful games, we inactive judge successful ourselves — and we inactive judge successful you. Millions of RPG fans person proven that games similar Disco Elysium person a wide audience. This is simply a genuinely wonderous thing. No 1 tin instrumentality that from us.

We besides judge successful what Harrier du Bois calls “the law”. It’s not perfect, but it’s determination to support those who make from those who take. And truthful it will.