Disco Elysium developer ZA/UM has apparently left several key staff, and purportedly against their will, according to founding member Martin Luiga.

Luiga posted a new blog in which he announced the “dissolution of the ZA/UM Cultural Association”, which he notes is distinctly unique from the company itself. He goes on to claim Disco Elysium lead designer Robert Kurvitz, writer Helen Hindpere, and art director Aleksander Rostov all involuntarily left the developer by the end of last year.

The departure of the above key staff was confirmed by Rostov over on his Twitter. Luiga claims that ZA/UM “no longer represents the ethos it was founded on”, as a cultural project. He claims that ZA/UM was a originally a success and that “most of the mistakes that were made were contingent, determined by the sociocultural conditions we were thrown into.”

Luiga claims the investors behind ZA/UM led to the change of dynamics in the company, and thus the departure of key staff. Luiga also admits that he doesn’t know if ZA/UM could have funded itself without the seed investments. “For a while, it was beautiful,” Luiga said. “My sincerest thanks to all who have rooted for us.”

ZA/UM issued a statement (via PC Gamer): “Like any video game, the development of Disco Elysium was and still is a collective effort, with every team member’s contribution essential and valued as part of a greater whole. At this time, we have no further comment to make other than the ZA/UM creative team’s focus remains on the development of our next project, and we are excited to share more news on this with you all soon.”

Disco Elysium: The Final Cut has been available for Windows PC, Mac (via the Epic Games Store, GOG, Steam, and the App Store only on Mac), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, and Google Stadia. In case you missed it, you can find our thorough review for the game here.