Disco Elysium Lawsuit Alleges ZA/UM CEO Illegally Took Majority Share

The ongoing battle between partners at Disco Elysium studio ZA/UM has taken another turn as new information has recently surfaced in the dispute between Disco Elysium creatives Robert Kurvitz and Aleksander Rostov and current ZA/UM CEO Ilmar Kompus and former executive producer Tõnis Haavel.

According to the Estonian Ekspress (via PC Gamer):

“the problems began when Margus Linnamäe, who largely financed Disco Elysium and was ZA/UM’s largest shareholder, decided to sell his stake in 2021. There was an expectation that Linnamäe would split his shareholding among the partners, but he allegedly sold it all to Kompus.

Kurvitz and Rostov did not know about this at the time. Their suspicions were raised when they were apparently demoted internally and, after checking the Estonian registration of companies, realised that control of ZA/UM now belonged to Kompus. The pair allegedly began demanding answers, shortly after which they were sacked. Both still own minor shareholdings in ZA/UM.

At the hearing, Kurvitz and Rostov argued that Kompus had used money that should have gone to the studio and shareholders, and funded Disco Elysium’s sequel, in order to buy those $4.8 million sketches. This was the alleged sleight-of-hand.

The shell company Tütreke, controlled by Kompus, somehow acquired these four sketches (described as being for a game called Pioneer One), and allegedly paid exactly one pound sterling for them before re-selling to ZA/UM for €4.8 million. This amount is what was apparently used to buy Linnamäe’s large stake, and put it in the hands of Kompus.”