Disco Never Dies

If only there was a “disco” option here. To harmoniously gather a heterogeneous band of artistic visionaries and groove. Burn another beautifully esoteric mural into the memories of gamers everywhere.

Unfortunately, as detailed in various articles about art collective turned game developer ZA/UM’s cancelled projects, a true sequel to Disco Elysium will not happen. Legal battles between ZA/UM and its former employees continue. New studios battle for life under the shadow of their ancestor and in competition with one another. With the video game industry already well in the midst of tumultuous times, it simply feels like…chaos reigns, creative cooperation wanes.

In light of this era of uncertainty and layoffs, I want to show my appreciation for everyone who helped create Disco Elysium, and for those who strive to keep its legacy alive. You’ve brought joy to millions, and inspired this writer in more ways than simply writing this short tribute to help console the minds of all who are waiting for some more hardcore. I can’t wait to see what you all create next.

 The following is a tribute born from the zeitgeist of post-Disco Elysium game studio drama, written in the style of Disco Elysium protagonist Harry Du Bois’ mind.

Logic – An immensely talented crew of passionate individuals can create incredible things, especially in an environment of rebellious innovation and understanding. Disco Elysium was a smash hit. Those responsible for it are capable of creating further masterpieces.

Encyclopedia [Easy: Success] – Disco Elysium was released in 2019 to critical acclaim and was declared Game of the Year by most news outlets, cementing itself as one of the greatest RPGs ever made. Developed by art collective turned game studio ZA/UM, the studio has seen consistent turbulence since 2021, such as lawsuits from Disco Elysium’s setting creator, lead artist, lead writer, and others.

Encyclopedia – Two Disco sequels have since been cancelled, and a quarter of ZA/UM staff were laid off in early 2024, only months after assurances that finances were sound. Fans, and of course the developers themselves, have been greatly dismayed by these outcomes.

Empathy – Confusion. Fury. Devastating loss. How could these endeavors go under when the staff is so driven? And the demand so high?

Authority [Challenging: Success] – The problem is most likely in leadership. A leader can be honest, inspiring, and approachable. They can also be deceptive and self-serving. How one wields their power can result in monumental achievement, their team reveling in happiness and shared glory. Or monumental failure, their team abandoned as a pile of husks rotting in a field. And every possibility in between. They establish the vision to be achieved and the morally acceptable means to get there.

Authority – A leader can find a melody conjured by their band, experiment with them and thrive in syncopation. Or they can steer a ship in circles, blame the stars and crew for misleading them, and still be considered their captain. And what they say goes. Deal with it.

Rhetoric – Without a clear voice and direction, how is anyone to succeed? Conversation is essential to progress. With others, and within ourselves.

Drama – Back and forth, within and without! I ache for what could have been, not even knowing what has been lost! My liege, to think on such divinity that will never see the light of day… wounds me deeply. I fear the damage mortal!

Pain Threshold – Stop whining, I don’t feel a thing.

Visual Calculus [Formidable: Success] – A metaphorical wound originating from the emotional center of the brain. Long-held expectations were destroyed, combined with knowledge that no sequel will ever be released, results in mental anguish that may manifest physically via psychosomatic symptoms.

Limbic System – You really wouldn’t like it. A short fuse of lightning igniting inside your skull. A deep ache behind your eyes, drawing out an unintentional tear like an old leaking water pump. A pressure in your chest that elicits an image of hands kneading nervously, vigorously, clenching and unclenching.

Pain Threshold [Legendary: Failure] – Oh. Ohhh. It’s… urghh...a lot.

Empathy – We mourn for a bright future ripped away.

Conceptualization [Impossible: Failure] – A digital cocktail of creativity unparalleled by all except its predecessor, now just beyond our grasp. It was on the tip of the tongue!

Electrochemistry [Trivial: Success] – It would’ve tasted like pure light energy, baby.

Composure – Where do I store the disappointment, the deep unerring ache?

Inland Empire – The hopeful vision that crystallized over years, and shattered in a fraction of that time. Dashed notions carried away like ashes by a wildfire’s updraft, gone to blanket a world naïve of its essence.  

Ancient Reptilian Brain – Carried away to the great void to which all things eventually return.

Rhetoric [Heroic: Success] – And yet… Everything comes from nothing.

Endurance – Yes, only how much disappointment can a community take? How much can developers tolerate?

Volition [Challenging: Success] We are resilient. Game developers are especially so. How many have been wronged, or failed, only to find a better path? A more true path? So very many. Their drive, their focus, their trials; it hones them into sharper instruments of creation, more capable than ever before.

Logic – Fire cleanses, and new life sprouts from the cooled fertilized soil.

Conceptualization – Like a badass phoenix capable of writing symphonies with its fiery wake.

Savoir Faire – That’s right, move forward and compose! Pull your vision into reality! Make the world realize that life tastes better with your flavor in it. Throw your momentum into an artistic ecological succession!

Shivers [Formidable: Success] – Keyboards rattle and mice chitter in newfound studios. Markers squeak on whiteboards across the UK. A bold manifesto is proclaimed from Croatia. An anniversary passes with unexpected flair.

Perception [Godly: Success] – A pulse is felt after a long, harrowing silence.

Inland Empire – A rich wall of sound floods the collective subconscious. Stalwart explorers pioneer an arcane voyage into the pale. Through uncertainty and hardship, a mass shimmers in the near future. Or is it the past? Ahoy, Isola Disco.

Esprit de Corps – A bond was forged amongst creatives through passion and time. Cooperative creativity manifested sublime success, a legend born from the minds of many. The original crew is no longer together, but forever linked.

Endurance – A scar upon the soul, and a reminder of great triumph. Inspiration pulled from one’s own ability.

Half-Light – A glorious tattoo to be envied by all!  

Empathy – Ineffable weight of memories good and bad…And the weightlessness of beloved, revered creation. Soon to be felt again.

Suggestion – It’s okay now to hope, and to wish for art to prevail over capitalism.

Half-Light – Unless your art interferes with the success of MY art, to which I’ll do everything in my power to silence you. Try me.

Savoir Faire [Challenging: Failure] – Not cool, man. Why can’t we just get along? There’s plenty of pie for everyone here.

Half-Light – Don’t be a fucking child. Survival is competition, and I will build my legacy – no – my FORTUNE, by feasting on the withered remains of ideas that could not stand strong against my self-evident and viciously litigious superiority.

Interfacing – I want to engage in a variety of experiences. There’s no reason a concept can’t be shared by the creative masses equally, without any such competitive malice.

Rhetoric – Hey. So… are we trying to start building “communism” again?

Logic [Medium: Success] – I think they’re heading towards a sort of artistic natural selection, albeit through a consumerist lens.

Drama – Money makes the world go round and round. Sell sell sell, win win win! Squeeze those lemons dry until they are but powder sifting through your fingers. And then make lemonade!

Reaction Speed – That’s awfully bleak.

Empathy – The lemons should be treated better. They provide excellent taste and nutrition.

Volition [Impossible: Success] – Hope is born from bleak times. The greatest achievements only feel great because of the metaphorical – sometimes literal – mountain we climbed to get there. It takes time, pain and conflict. If there’s no pushing beyond what we thought possible, we – and every little thing we do – turns soft and inflexible. To push through the hardest times is to grow. Feel the bleak, but do not let it own you. Weather the darkness and then obliterate it with the light you’ve cultivated in defiance.

Shivers – A man sits in silence outside a café staring at his tepid, mostly full cup of coffee. A thick ring of dried dark roast stains the napkin it sits on, a mirror to the bags accessorizing his eyes. The lingering aroma is almost overwhelming in this moment, yet he breathes it in deeply, like a smoker taking one huge masochistically final puff before swearing it off for good. He holds it in with eyes closed, slightly grimacing towards the sky. He exhales the memory, face relaxing slightly as air evacuates his lungs. The man gets up and walks a dozen steps before stopping abruptly. He returns for his cup and takes a deep swig, the ghost of a smirk touching his face. He strides away from the café, tossing an empty cup into a trash bin as he turns a corner.

A future with more psychological, narrative, mind-blowingly creative RPGs is a bright one that I believe in. May these newfound studios – and all the others that are grinding already – conquer the looming specter of capitalism and bring to fruition the vision they were meant to make real. While we will never get Disco Elysium 2, the spirit of disco will one day return to our side.