INTRODUCTION
Updated on 10/15/2026
In (hopefully) the shortest and best way I could, I’ve put together a short guide on what’s going on with these “spiritual successors” that everyone keeps talking about. The companies I’ve listed below are confirmed to have ex-ZA/UM employees that have worked on Disco Elysium in some capacity.
Please note, these lists may change at any time. I’ll do my best to keep it up-to-date. Roles in parentheses are from Disco Elysium's credits, and does not necessarily mean that is what they're working for in their current position.
Also, please note: The links to the devs are only for reference and should not be used to harass or bombard these devs for any reason whatsoever. I simply provide them as a means to follow and keep up to date on what the devs are doing.
QUICK LIST OF NEW COMPANIES:
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FIRST OFF, WHAT HAPPENED? WHY DID EVERYONE SPLIT?
I will try to explain this briefly, and it's probably not going to be the best. I will also link some further reading in case I do not do a good job at explaining. I highly recommend reading them to get the fuller picture, or at least try to read them. There's a lot, right?
TL;DR- The original creatives were forced out for one reason or another. Corporate/workplace hostility, greedy shareholders and lawsuits were abundant. Most, if not all, of the top level creatives on Disco Elysium no longer work there because of one of the reasons listed. There have been several lawsuits that have come out of this, either to win back the IP they have created, or to stop ex-employees from working on other things. It’s become a long-standing legal battle that, unfortunately, gets boiled down into “petty drama.” It’s another story of suits and money profiting off of the backs of creatives who make the product they wish to sell to the masses, and fuck over the creatives when they decide they’re done with them.
ZA/UM is holding onto the IP so that the original creators may no longer use it in almost any capacity, bastardizing it with things like a “photo mode” or “a Disco Elysium for the TikTok generation.” Overall, it’s a very insulting thing to have done to the original creators; steal their IP, profit off of it, and screw them all over in the end. If you see people say “don’t support ZA/UM, they stole the game” or other similar rhetoric, that is likely why. To sum it up with a quote from Argo Tuulik, one of the game's writers:
“It's the people on top – the motherf****s in sailing shoes and bowties – that f****d Harry, f****d Kim, f****d Robert, Rostov, Helen, Olga, Cash, f****d Elysium, f****d you and me too. They are not artists, they are professional f*****s.”
This is a very surface level explanation of a very complex situation, but it has also been discussed ad nauseam by people who are much better at words than I am. I’d like to link a few different things for you to read to better understand the subject, for your own opinions to be formed.
https://medium.com/@martinluiga/the-dissolution-of-the-za-um-cultural-association-779788390a03
https://www.reddit.com/r/HobbyDrama/comments/1ke66ti/video_games_the_rise_and_fall_and_of_zaum/
https://www.reddit.com/r/DiscoElysium/comments/1asf3qs/how_zaum_and_people_make_games_manipulated_the/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUUW1-8fUNE
https://youtu.be/LJwv8BpFQHs?si=Y5ooJjY00qKhB_Nt (Interview with Argo & Dora, former ZA/UM and current Summer Eternal)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hhmdcLqzpQ
Now let's get onto the "spiritual successors" everyone's clamoring about!
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RED INFO LTD
Who’s working at Red Info Ltd.?
- Robert Kurvitz (Lead Writer, Lead Designer)
- Aleksander Rostov (Art and Design, registered under Sander Taal)
- Helen Hindpere (Writer)
- (Side note: He didn't work on Disco Elysium, but it's been rumored that Chris Avellone of Fallout, Planescape: Torment & Knights of the Old Republic II fame is working at Red Info.)
What is Red Info Ltd. Working on?
Nothing is known about what Red Info is doing. There hasn’t been an official announcement of anything, and they have not even officially announced themselves to the world yet. This information was only found through a government affiliated business registrar. There was a trademark with the name “Corinthians” found registered by Red Info, but besides that, there is no other red info to share about them yet.
Red Info does not have any sort of social media or functioning website to follow at this time. This will change to include website, social media, or other launch info when it is revealed. Stay tuned!
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DARK MATH GAMES
Who’s working at Dark Math Games?
- Kaur Kender (Executive Producer, Publishing)
- Timo Albert (Publishing)
- Olga Moskvina did some consulting for DMG and editing for their comic, but she does consulting for another company and doesn’t “work” for DMG.
What is Dark Math Games working on?
Dark Math Games revealed Tangerine Antarctic (they changed the name) XXX Nightshift, a detective CRPG 3rd person RPG, based in a very cyber futuristic environment. The game’s flavor text is as follows:
Welcome, detective, to World’s End’s most luxurious hotel: the Tangerine Antarctic at Mt. Hope. The ultimate comfort for the powerful elites past, present and future. No desire is off-limits, privacy is absolute and nothing is certain. Except: you shouldn't be here. And the murders are very real.
Old flavor text before the rebrand: “You’re a Patrol Forces Op on a holiday weekend at World’s End Ski Resort, Mount Hope, Antarctica. But things are about to go sideways. Now you’re stranded at the off-season resort with unforgettable guests, wild parties, and mad secrets. The world of XXX NIGHTSHIFT is your oyster — crack it open with evolved role-playing systems.”
You may read more about the game, see screenshots and get updates by going to their website here. Their subreddit is r/TangerineAntarctic. The game is open for pre-order directly on the website. They also have some form of visual media here that you want to witness. Please note that the linked comic is somewhat NSFW. What do you expect with such a flavorful name like XXX Nightshift, seriously?
As of Autumn's start in 2026, there has not been much more info on this release or the company, so please stay tuned if you are interested or check out their Subreddit!
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SUMMER ETERNAL
Who’s part of Summer Eternal?
- Argo Tuulik (Writer)
- Dora Klindžić (Not credited on Disco Elysium but has previously worked at ZA/UM, and was involved with writing the cancelled Cuno spin-off, Locust City)
- Olga Moskvina (Writer, consultant through Digimancy)
- Anastasiia Ivanova (Not credit on Disco Elysium but has previously worked at ZA/UM as a senior concept artist)
- Andrus Laansalu (Sound Design)
- Michael Oswell (ZA/UM graphic design)
- Lenval Brown (Trailer Narration, Voice acting for all 24 skills & Thought Cabinet) *Contractor
What is Summer Eternal working on?
Summer Eternal is working on a new game they have titled RED ROOSTER, revealed on the 14th of October in 2026. Red Rooster is a 3D "incendiary" RPG that is physics based - players will assume the role of Redrick Roost, a tulpa currently serving life in prison for gross criminal negligence following a catastrophic product launch. On condition of his release and pardon of his crimes, he must team up with mathematician Dr. Astrid Albers to investigate a mysterious string of arsons that may be connected to his fire chief brother's fire department, Fire Terminal 9. Players can move, manipulate, and burn objects in a full physics-based sandbox.
More information can be found in Summer Eternal Anthology Volume One, on their official website, or on the soon-to-launch Red Rooster Wiki.
The anthology also includes interviews, exclusive behind-the-scenes looks, information of their company structure and operations and more. Many DE fanartists were hired to do art for the anthology and includes a lot of community input. They plan to offer a 5% stake in the company dedicated to their fans and supporters, in which players and purchasers of any of their products will be entered into a non-profit organization where the community themselves may have a say-so in what goes on at Summer Eternal. They consider themselves to be one of the first Worker *and* player owned companies.
Summer Eternal has a newsletter that can be signed up for on their website here. You may also read their dev blog here.
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LONGDUE GAMES
Who’s working at Longdue Games?
- Martin Luiga (Editing)
- Piotr Sobolewski (under Knights of Unity, credited as “Additional Development”)
- Lenval Brown (Trailer Narration, Voice acting for all 24 skills & Thought Cabinet) *Contractor
What is Longdue Games working on?
Hopetown. For their game, you can look at it yourself here. They have an exclusive Discord I can't link because I am not involved in their project.
This brevity about their game is due to their repeated shady behavior on this Subreddit, not limited to but including mass reports, voting manipulation and possible account breach attempts against those who have criticized them. They have been a huge pain for moderation to deal with, as well as posting a safety risk to user accounts, and we find it much easier to ban the topic to forgo any future fire-starting arguments or potential pushback from the company.
You're free to form your own opinion on them! Hopetown updates will not be discussed here until the lawsuit against Argo and Dora has been dropped completely. Do note they have their own community over on r/LongdueGames because their company is banned here, and for the safety of our community, they will not be unbanned.
More info about Hopetown can be found here and here.
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ZA/UM (NOW)
Who’s still working at ZA/UM?
- Tõnis Haavel (Executive Producer)
- Ilmar Kompus (Corporate, Financing, Legal, Accounting)
- Justin Keenan (Writing, Editing)
- Kaspar Tamsalu (Art)
- Anton Vill (Additional Art)
- Jim Ashilevi (Voice Over Director)
- Siim Sinamae (Additional Writing)
- There is likely more here that I’m missing. It’s rather hard to find all of them without resorting to some stalker-ish methods. My extent is a quick glance at the hellhole that is LinkedIn- if I can’t find it there, then I can’t confirm/deny who’s where.
What is ZA/UM working on?
ZA/UM released Disco Elysium Mobile in 2025, which is a different way to experience Disco Elysium. It is only available on Android.
In 2026, ZA/UM released its first full-scale game since Disco Elysium & since the IP troubles, titled Zero Parades ( r/ZeroParades ). Zero Parades is an espionage RPG with a similar isometric side-scrolling dialogue viewer that one would find familiar after playing Disco Elysium. You can watch the trailer, revealed at Gamescom 2025, here. They also have announced a "Directors Cut" version of Zero Parades to be released sometime in the future.
With the focus on Zero Parades Directors Cut right now, it is not known to the public if ZA/UM studios are working at anything else at this time.
Please note, discussion of Zero Parades should go into their dedicated Subreddit.
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WHICH ONE SHOULD I SUPPORT? WHICH ONE IS GOOD?
Support whichever one you want. Play the ones that look the most interesting. You can do literally whatever you want forever. I'm not your mother. Everyone has an opinion here, so feel free to look around or ask for those. Some of these games also have their own communities sprouting up on Reddit & Discord if you'd like to join them for yourself!
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ITCHING FOR MORE DISCO ELYSIUM? MAYBE YOU WANT SOMETHING SIMILAR, NOT EXACT SAME?
Here are some titles that are either inspired by Disco Elysium, loved for similar reasons to Disco Elysium, play like Disco Elysium or were even used in the inspirations of Disco Elysium. Please note that some of these came out before Disco Elysium, and are likely just what people recommend when asking for games "similar to Disco Elysium." This may not be a complete list and might change.
(This list was compiled by u/Giuthais!)
Already released:
Demo available:
In development:
- Mandrake by Failbetter games (Fallen London, Sunless Sea),
- Pera Coda,
- Shore of Jord,
- The Conformist,
- Wind Up Dead Man
Disco-adjacent (these games either inspired Disco Elysium, were worked on by other ZA/UM employees or share a lot of the same DNA as Disco Elysium.)
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SOURCES
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/14189378
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/another-group-of-ex-disco-elysium-developers-found-dark-math-games
https://summereternal.com/
https://x.com/summer_eternal_
https://www.linkedin.com/company/zaumstudio/?originalSubdomain=uk
Thank you to Dora K @ SE, The41stPrecinct and Giuthais for their assistance!
