Summer Eternal is a newly established studio created by former developers of Disco Elysium

A group of former ZA/UM team members has established a new game development studio named Summer Eternal.

This new venture was initiated by Argo Tuulik, a writer for Disco Elysium. Tuulik contributed to the worldbuilding of the game's universe when the ZA/UM collective initially operated as a tabletop RPG group in the early 2000s.

In February, Tuulik was among those dismissed from ZA/UM, alongside reports of a Disco Elysium spin-off cancellation.

IGN shared that Summer Eternal's members include fellow Disco Elysium collaborators such as writer Argo Tuulik, voice artist Lenval Brown, and principal writer Dora Klindžić, among others. The team also features senior concept artist Anastasia Ivanova, graphic designer Michael Oswell, and Aleksandar Gavrilović, who was previously the managing director at Croatian studio Gamechuck.

The studio is set to operate out of Zagreb, Croatia, beginning in April 2025, according to its official website.

Tuulik conveyed to IGN that Summer Eternal is structured as a "worker-owned co-operative," aspiring to be a "revolutionary RPG studio." Their inaugural project, while narrative-centric, is not connected to Disco Elysium.

This comes after the recent emergence of studios like Longdue and Dark Math Games in the UK, both established by former ZA/UM developers.

ZA/UM continues its activities, while two key figures behind Disco Elysium, Robert Kurvits and Aleksander Rostov, launched their studio, Red Info Ltd, in June 2022 with funding from NetEase.

In all, there are five studios now comprised of former Disco Elysium developers following legal contention between ZA/UM and prominent figures from the game's creation.

In October 2022, reports surfaced indicating that Kurvitz, Rostov, and Helen Hindpere had been forced out, with allegations of unfair dismissal by Kurvitz and Rostov.

Additionally, accusations surfaced against ZA/UM CEO Ilmar Kompus for allegedly misappropriating €4.8 million to secure a majority stake. Disco Elysium's executive producer Kaur Kender, associated with Dark Math Games, filed a legal suit against the firm.

The lawsuit was dropped shortly afterward, with the legal issues settled in March 2023, resulting in Kender withdrawing the suit and being ordered to cover Kompus's legal expenses.

For further insight into the legal circumstances surrounding Disco Elysium, consider watching the detailed examination by People Make Games.