Disco Elysium was supposed to get Ubisoft or Microsoft, the creator of the game reveals new details
A number of new facts associated with the scandal around ZA/UM and Disco Elysium became known thanks to the video materials of PEOPLE MAKE GAMES. During the interview of Chris Brother with Robert Kurvits, important, but unconfirmed messages appeared in the context of dismissal of the initiator of the entire project and the universe "Elysium".
Kurvitz allegedly revealed the main reason stated in writing (the document, unfortunately, was not shown) by which he was kicked out of the corporate structures of ZA/UM. He allegedly tried to steal and sell intellectual property in the form of Disco Elysium to serious third parties. Immediately after indicating this reason, the developer denied that such an act took place on his part.
Kurvitz answered ZA/UM accusations with a simple question: "What companies I had to offer the IP in question?". During the discussion, names such as Ubisoft and Microsoft were mentioned between the parties – that is, really serious market players. It was even indicated that with one of the leading developers Obsidian (a studio that has been part of the Xbox family for some time), Josh Soyre, contact was made. Chris Bratt contacted the developer in question – Soyer clearly replied that there were no negotiations.
However, after several months of research, Bratt learned that there were rumors on the sidelines that Kurwitz allegedly contacts the sale of IP with Larian Studios, the creators of Divinity: Original Sin and the coming Baldur’s Gate 3. The journalist wrote to the Belgian developer, but in a response letter he learned that he was refraining from comments on this issue.
ZA/UM claims one thing, Kurvitz claims another – the entire judicial struggle rotates around this conflict of visions, opinions and interests. Therefore, at the moment it is difficult to judge this case. However, one significant incident should be cited, which was mentioned in the documentary by Peter Sunen, the leading technologist ZA/UM. Kurvitz allegedly made him an unusual and risky proposal from a legal and professional point of view. He asked him, at least, according to Sunenen, to make the source code accessible for unscrewed use. The programmer did not fulfill this request – as he himself put it, this could affect his future in the studio.
Thanks to PEOPLE MAKE Games, we definitely know more, but this is still not enough to unequivocally answer the question of who tells the truth in the dispute about Disco Elysium. The above information, although contradictory, nevertheless shows that the scale of the entire conflict goes far beyond the scope of a small independent studio or even the Estonian financial market, turning into a global scandal for the video game industry. If only to assume that Ubisoft and Microsoft were also drawn into this whole thing – even for a moment.