Disco Elysium expansion reportedly cancelled, with a quarter of staff at risk of redundancy

Third project canned in three years, sources say

A standalone expansion for Disco Elysium, codenamed X7, has reportedly been cancelled and a quarter of developers at developers ZA/UM are at risk of redundancy. Around 24 employees are said to be affected, according to “sources close to the matter” who spoke to Sports Illustrated’s video games site.

“Despite concerted efforts over the past eight months by our management team and the X7 disciplines, following consultation with our management team, I have taken the difficult decision to cancel X7,” wrote ZA/UM CEO Ilmar Kompus in an email sent to staff and seen by SI.

“With the cancellation of X7 we are proposing to reshape our team to support our two remaining games. This adjustment will almost certainly lead to redundancies, mostly affecting the X7 team but also our non-development teams and non-X7 projects.”

According to the sources, a Disco Elysium sequel was similarly cancelled in 2022, and a game set in a new sci-fi IP – referred to as Project P1 in the CEO’s email to staff – was paused in 2023. Two projects are thought to remain in development within ZA/UM, with one relating to Disco Elysium.

One source who spoke to SI blamed the situation on mismanagement, alleging that leadership were “always acting like there was an enemy, be it the old Disco team, the press, or even people working there.”

Disco Elysium’s original creators were reportedly fired from ZA/UM several years ago, in part leading to long-running litigation with the company as well as a public war of words.