Possibly, the bitter split involving the previous production heads of Disco Elysium and Studio ZA/new UM’s leadership has ended. Producer Kaur Kender has dismissed her case against Studio ZA/new UM’s owners now that the fraudulently stolen money has been refunded.
About a couple of months ago, we found out that Studio ZA/UM had lost three key members: Robert Kurvitz, the main architect of Disco Elysium; Aleksander Rostov, the artistic director of the project, and Helen Hindpere, the lead author on the project. We soon learned that Ilmar Kampus, Head of Tetreke OU, had bought Studio ZA/UM and begun making massive adjustments at the firm, including the resignation of the Disco Elysium management crew just as development on the successor was believed to be underway.
The Following Struggle & Accusations
Finally, Kravitz and Rostov appeared alongside producer Kaur Kender to charge Tütreke and Kompus of using fraud to take control of Studio ZA/UM. They said that Kompus had bought over Business ZA/UM using funds stolen from its employees, “funding intended for the studio and its stockholders as a whole, but diverted to the personal use of one individual. Time and resources that might have been used to create the successor.” GamesIndustry.biz claims that the method involves Kompus paying €1 for four designs created by Studio ZA/UM and then returning them to the developer for €4.8 million. That money was set aside for the production company’s future use.
After being accused of fostering a hostile work atmosphere and trying to sell ZA/intellectual UM’s ip to competitors, Kompus retaliated against the erstwhile Disco Elysium developers. This was rebutted by claims that Kompus was responsible for the IP theft and that Kurvitz, Rostov, and Hindpere were only let go because they demanded to examine ZA/financials UM’s as proof of the fraud.
The Case Was Dropped
The case was supposed to go to trial on November 28, but that day came and went without anything happening. Studio ZA/UM has reportedly received the €4.8 million back from Kurvitz/Kender, and the Estonian news outlet Eesti Ekspress reports that the matter has been dismissed.
“This result is a direct result of the law and the circumstances. It is to everyone’s satisfaction that Kender and his lawyers have decided to drop their baseless case, “said Kampus. “Their ruling confirms that the allegations were without merit and that I have behaved ethically and responsibly, as shown by the company documents I presented.
Kender used this issue as a platform to propagate rumors and outright lies regarding the Studio and its employees, while others gladly helped him out. The dedicated staff at ZA/UM, who has been treating game design as a revolutionary art form, will continue doing what they love: creating amazing games.”
