Disco Elysium is a 2019 role-playing video game created and published by ZA/UM. The game was written and designed by a team led by Estonian novelist Robert Kurvitz and executive producer Kaur Kender. It features an art style inspired by paintings and music by the English band Sea Power. The game was released for Windows in October 2019 and for macOS in April 2020. A version with full voice acting and new content, called The Final Cut, was released for consoles in 2021, along with a free update for PC versions. In August 2025, the game was made available for Android devices.
The game follows a detective who has lost his memory and does not know his identity or the world around him. As he investigates a murder with a detective from another area, players can uncover the detective’s past and learn what caused his condition. Disco Elysium is a different kind of role-playing game with little combat. Instead, players use 24 skills that represent the detective’s traits and personalities. These skills influence decisions through tests and conversations. The game is based on a tabletop role-playing game setting that Kurvitz created before forming ZA/UM in 2016. This is the second time the Elysium setting has been explored, following the 2013 novel Sacred and Terrible Air.
Disco Elysium received high praise when it was released, winning many awards, including Best Independent Game, Best Narrative, and Best Role Playing Game at the Game Awards 2019. It has sold more than five million copies and is considered one of the best video games ever made. It is also seen as an example of video games as an art form. However, conflicts within ZA/UM around 2021 caused several key developers, including Kurvitz and Kender, to leave and start their own studios. By October 2024, at least four other studios, in addition to ZA/UM, had announced projects to create games inspired by Disco Elysium.
Gameplay
Disco Elysium is a role-playing video game with an open world and gameplay that focuses on talking and making choices. The game uses an isometric perspective, which shows the detective and the environment from a 3D angle above. The player controls a detective who has forgotten important information due to alcohol and drug use and is trying to solve a murder case. The detective can move around the game world to interact with other characters, objects, or move to new areas. Early in the game, the detective gains a partner named Kim Kitsuragi, who helps the player make professional choices during conversations.
The game does not include traditional combat. Instead, challenges are handled through skill checks and conversations. There are four main abilities in the game: Intellect, Psyche, Physique, and Motorics. Each ability has six smaller skills, totaling 24. Players earn points as they level up, which they can use to improve these skills. Improving skills helps the detective pass challenges, which are decided by rolling two six-sided dice. However, improving certain skills may also cause negative effects or character quirks, making it harder to focus on making the best choices for every situation. For example, high Drama helps the detective find lies but might cause the character to act strangely. High Electrochemistry helps avoid drug effects but could lead to using drugs too much. The clothes the detective wears can also affect their skills, sometimes helping and sometimes hurting them.
The game includes a system called the "Thought Cabinet," where players can unlock new ideas by talking to others or thinking deeply. These thoughts take time to fully understand and can give benefits or drawbacks. At the start, the Thought Cabinet has limited space, but more slots can be added as the player gains experience. For example, one early thought is "Hobocop," which makes the detective consider living on the streets to save money. This lowers how others react to the detective while the thought is being processed. Once completed, it helps earn more money from recycling trash. Later, players can spend points to remove completed thoughts to make room for new ones, but this means losing any benefits from the old thought.
The 24 skills also influence how the detective talks and makes decisions. Sometimes, the detective might argue with different parts of their mind or body, showing a split personality. These debates can give tips on how to act or talk with others in the game. For example, a skill called Inland Empire, part of Psyche, helps the detective pretend to be someone else with strong belief. If the player chooses this option during a debate, it can help in situations where pretending is needed.
Synopsis
Disco Elysium is set in the world of Elysium, a place created by Kurvitz and his team. Elysium has a history spanning more than six thousand years. The story follows Karl Marx’s theory of history, which explains that how people produce goods and resources directly influences the political, artistic, religious, and philosophical systems of society.
The game takes place in the year 51 of the Current Century. Elysium is divided into "isolas," large land and sea areas separated by the Pale, a mysterious, mist-like region where the rules of reality change. Spending too much time in the Pale can cause mental illness or death. Traveling through the Pale, usually done with air vehicles, is tightly controlled because of the risks.
The story begins in the poor district of Martinaise, part of the city of Revachol on the isola of Insulinde, called the "New New World." Forty-nine years before the game’s events, communist revolutions spread across many countries, leading to the fall of the Suzerainty of Revachol, a powerful monarchy. Six years later, the Commune of Revachol was defeated by a group of nations called the Coalition, which now controls Revachol as a Special Administrative Region. The Coalition allows the people of Revachol to handle policing through the Revachol Citizens Militia (RCM), a group of volunteers who have become a semi-professional police force.
The player begins the game in a ruined hostel room in Martinaise with a severe hangover and no memory of who they are, likely due to a severe memory loss caused by drug use. They meet Lieutenant Kim Kitsuragi, who tells them they are assigned to investigate the death of a man found hanging in an empty lot behind the hostel. The victim’s identity is unknown, and early clues suggest he was killed by a group of people. The detectives explore the district, following leads and helping residents with tasks. During the investigation, the player learns they are Lieutenant Harrier "Harry" Du Bois, a decorated RCM detective. Harry experienced a midlife crisis years earlier and, on the night he was assigned to the case, began a destructive three-day drinking binge in Martinaise. When the player sleeps on the first night, Harry has a nightmare in which he sees himself as the hanged man under a disco ball. His dead body tells him that everything is hopeless and he will fail to solve the case or fix his life.
Harry and Kim discover the murder is linked to a strike by Martinaise dockworkers against the Wild Pines Group, a major logistics company. They interview union leader Evrart Claire and Wild Pines negotiator Joyce Messier. Joyce reveals the victim was Colonel Ellis "Lely" Kortenaer, a mercenary sent by Wild Pines to end the strike. She warns that other mercenaries have gone rogue and may seek revenge for Lely’s death.
Harry and Kim learn Lely was killed before being hanged. The Hardie Boys, a group of dockworker vigilantes who act as peacekeepers in Martinaise, claim responsibility. They accuse Lely of attempting to rape a hostel guest named Klaasje. Klaasje admits Lely was shot in the mouth during consensual sex. Unable to find the source of the bullet and fearing the authorities due to her past as a corporate spy, Klaasje asked a union supporter named Ruby to help stage Lely’s hanging with the Hardie Boys. The detectives find Ruby hiding in an abandoned building, where she uses a device that emits radio waves to disable them. Ruby claims Klaasje planned the cover-up and does not know who shot Lely. Harry overcomes the device and considers arresting Ruby, but she believes Harry is corrupt and either escapes or kills herself, depending on the player’s choices.
Returning to their hostel, the detectives stop a fight between rogue mercenaries and the Hardie Boys. A shootout occurs, and Harry is wounded, leaving him unconscious for several days. Depending on the player’s actions, some or all of the mercenaries may die, and Kim may be hospitalized, with a street child named Cuno offering to replace him as Harry’s partner. The detectives track leads to an old fortress on an islet near Martinaise’s shore.
At the fortress, they find Iosef Lilianovich Dros, a former communist army officer who deserted during the fall of the Revachol commune. Iosef admits he shot Lely out of anger and jealousy, fueled by his hatred of the capitalist system Lely represented and his jealousy of Klaasje. The detectives arrest Iosef for the murder. At this point, an insect-like creature called the Insulindian Phasmid appears. The player may choose to investigate it, and it is implied the Phasmid’s psychoactive chemicals influenced Lely’s mind for years, contributing to the events. Harry has a psychic conversation with the Phasmid, who tells him the Pale is a result of human perception and self-reflection that threatens the world. The Phasmid encourages Harry to move forward with his life.
Upon returning to Martinaise, Harry and his partner face his former squad. They reflect on Harry’s actions, including whether he solved the case and how he handled the mercenaries. Lieutenant Jean Vicquemare, Harry’s usual partner, confirms Harry’s emotional breakdown was caused by his fiancée leaving him years ago. In the best outcome, the squad expresses hope for Harry’s recovery and invites him and either Kim or Cuno to join a special RCM unit.
Development
Disco Elysium was created by ZA/UM, a company started in 2016 by Estonian writer Robert Kurvitz. Kurvitz was the game’s main writer and designer. In 2005, while playing in a band named Ultramelanhool, Kurvitz imagined a fictional world during a night when he listened to Tiësto’s song "Adagio for Strings." He then formed a group of artists and musicians, including Aleksander Rostov, who became the lead artist for Disco Elysium. Together, they expanded on the idea and created a tabletop role-playing game inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, based on a steampunk-like concept. During this time, Kurvitz met Estonian author Kaur Kender, who helped him write a novel set in the same world called Sacred and Terrible Air. The book was published in 2013 but sold only about 1,000 copies. After the book’s poor sales, Kurvitz experienced a period of depression and alcoholism lasting about three years. This experience, along with his and Rostov’s childhood memories of playing Dungeons & Dragons, influenced the game’s design philosophy of accepting failure. This idea is shown through the game’s main character, Harrier Dubois, the challenges faced by characters and the world, and the RPG’s pass-fail dice system. A scrapped tagline for the game was “A Roleplaying Game About Being a Total Failure.”
Kurvitz eventually recovered from his alcoholism and helped Kender with his own recovery. As a thank you, Kender suggested Kurvitz turn his fictional world into a video game instead of writing a novel. Kurvitz had no experience with video games, but he noticed that the game’s artwork could fit into an isometric format, and Rostov agreed to take the risk of making a video game together. Kurvitz described the game as “D&D meets '70s cop-show, in an original 'fantastic realist' setting, with swords, guns, and motor-cars. Realised as an isometric CRPG – a modern advancement on the legendary Planescape: Torment and Baldur's Gate. Massive, reactive story. Exploring a vast, poverty-stricken ghetto. Deep, strategic combat.” Kender was impressed and invested in the game’s development, with more support coming from friends and family. The game was first announced as No Truce With the Furies, a title taken from a poem by R.S. Thomas. Though the name was later changed, the poem later appeared in the game’s opening:
“The Furies are at home in the mirror, it is their address. Even the clearest water, if deep enough can drown. -R.S. Thomas”
Kurvitz formed the ZA/UM team to create the game. The name “ZA/UM” comes from a Russian language called Zaum, used by poets in the early 1900s. In Russian, “za um” means “to take hold of one’s mind,” similar to the English phrase “bootstrapping.” The name in all caps with a slash symbol shows the team as “something that definitely exists and weighs eight tonnes.” Work on the game began around 2016, with the team living in a former gallery in Tallinn, Estonia. They secured venture capital funding, which allowed Kurvitz to hire the English band British Sea Power for the game’s soundtrack. While in Birmingham, Kurvitz decided to move the main development team to England for better resources. During development, some team members moved from Estonia to London and Brighton, while others worked from Poland, Romania, and China. By the time the game was released, ZA/UM had about 20 outside consultants and 35 in-house developers, with eight writers helping Kurvitz with dialogue. Most of the game’s funding came from Estonian businessman Margus Linnamäe. The game uses the Unity engine.
Kurvitz aimed to create a game with many choices and outcomes, but limited by practical development challenges. Instead of covering all possible choices, the team focused on “microreactivity,” small decisions like an embarrassing comment and how they might affect the story. Dialogue helped players understand how small choices had bigger effects. The game also recognized that some parts of the story could not be fully resolved, similar to the world of Revachol. A character named Kim was added to help players stay on track and accept that some story threads could not be fixed.
Originally, the game was planned to focus on one city for a 2017 release. However, because ZA/UM told investors the game would cover a larger world, they had to expand beyond one location, delaying the release. The game’s name was changed to Disco Elysium. The title has two meanings: “disco” refers to ideas that gain attention briefly, like the disco music fad, and it is Latin for “I learn,” reflecting the protagonist’s journey to overcome amnesia and learn about the world of Elysium. Kurvitz intended No Truce to be a working title for a future game bundle. Though ZA/UM planned to publish the game through Humble Bundle, they chose to self-publish it.
In March 2025, ZA/UM announced a mobile version of Disco Elysium for Android devices, targeting casual players. The game was released on Google Play on August 5, 2025.
The game’s art, created in a painterly style, was led by Aleksander Rostov. The soundtrack was written and recorded by British Sea Power, a band ZA/UM members admired. The band agreed to create original music and remix songs from their discography for the game. Tracks like “Smallest Church in Sussex” and “Fire Escape in the Sea” were adapted into new versions for the game.
Release
Disco Elysium was first released for Windows on October 15, 2019. The version for macOS was released on April 27, 2020. One of the first translations ZA/UM published was the Chinese version, which came out in March 2020. This release had to skip the usual approval process required for games in China because the game's content, including violence, sexual themes, and criticism of certain beliefs, did not meet Chinese government standards. After its release, reviews from Chinese players showed that many enjoyed the game, especially its political themes. In May 2020, ZA/UM released an update that improved the game's performance on older computers and added support for more language translations, which were created by the community and the localization company Testronic Labs.
After the original release, Kurvitz announced plans for an expansion and a full sequel to the game. A tabletop role-playing game, tentatively named You Are Vapor, was also announced. Kurvitz also planned to translate his novel Sacred and Terrible Air into English, which takes place 20 years after the events of Disco Elysium. In June 2020, ZA/UM partnered with the production company dj2 Entertainment to create a television series based on the game. In March 2021, ZA/UM launched a limited-edition clothing and artwork line called Atelier, featuring designs inspired by the game.
The Final Cut was released on March 30, 2021, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Stadia as a free update for existing PC and macOS versions. Versions for Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S were released on October 12, 2021. The original game was not submitted for approval by the Australian Classification Board because it was only available for personal computers. However, the planned console release of The Final Cut required a review. The game was initially refused classification in Australia due to its depiction of sex, drug use, crime, cruelty, and violence, as well as showing content considered offensive to moral and social standards. ZA/UM appealed the decision, and the ban was later lifted. The game was reclassified as adults-only (R18+) after the Board recognized that the game showed negative consequences for drug use, which discouraged such behavior. The game was released in Japan by Spike Chunsoft on August 25, 2022.
Reception
Disco Elysium received "universal acclaim" from Metacritic, a website that collects game reviews. It was praised for its story and the way players interact with characters. PC Gamer said the game has deep content, many choices, and strong storytelling, calling it one of the best RPGs on PC. IGN highlighted its open world and compared it to popular games like The Witcher 3 and Red Dead Redemption 2, even though its world is smaller. The Washington Post called the game "conspicuously well written." GameSpot gave it a perfect score of 10 out of 10, the first time they did so since 2017. PCGamesN said the game set new standards for exploration and conversation systems. However, Eurogamer criticized it for limited role-playing choices and a lack of clear focus.
In a review for Black Gate, Joshua Dinges wrote that the game’s world is well-developed, characters are realistic, and the many storylines are engaging. He noted that players might not always know what to do, but they will still enjoy exploring the detailed environment, which uses an art style similar to expressionist watercolors.
Disco Elysium: The Final Cut was praised by IGN and Game Informer for adding voice lines and new quests. However, the PlayStation versions had serious problems that made some quests impossible to complete.
As of September 2025, Disco Elysium sold more than five million copies. In June 2020, ZA/UM and dj2 Entertainment announced a television series based on the game was being created.
The game was nominated for four awards at The Game Awards 2019 and won all of them, the most at the event. Slant Magazine, USGamer, PC Gamer, and Zero Punctuation named it their game of the year. Time listed it as one of the top 10 games of the 2010s. It was also nominated for the 2020 Nebula Award for Best Game Writing.
Post-release
After the success of the game Disco Elysium, work began immediately on a direct sequel and several other projects. The sequel, called Y12, was led by Kurvitz, Rostov, and Hindpere. Another project, P1, was led by Kender. In October 2022, Martin Luiga, a member of ZA/UM, said that Kurvitz, Rostov, Hindpere, and himself had "involuntarily left the company" in late 2021. He claimed ZA/UM no longer followed its original values. Luiga also said the ZA/UM cultural group had been dissolved. Luiga added that Kurvitz, Rostov, and Hindpere were fired unfairly. A ZA/UM spokesperson denied these claims.
In early November 2022, different accounts of the events were shared. Kurvitz said Zaum Studio OÜ, the development studio, was originally owned by Margus Linnamäe. In 2021, the company was bought by Tütreke OÜ, owned by studio CEO Ilmar Kompus. Kurvitz and Rostov claimed the money used for the purchase came from the studio itself, making it a fraudulent transaction. They said Kompus bought four sketches for a Disco Elysium sequel for £1 and later sold them back to Zaum for €4.8 million, using the money to buy the studio. Kurvitz and Rostov said they were fired after questioning these actions. They argued they still had control over the Disco Elysium intellectual property and should have had a say in the sale. Zaum Studio denied these claims, saying Kurvitz and Rostov were fired for not fulfilling their duties and for mistreating others. Some employees said the situation was more complicated.
Kaur Kender, the executive producer of Disco Elysium, filed a lawsuit against Kompus, claiming he owed €1 million. Kender also said Kompus was helped by Tõnis Haavel, an Estonian investor with a criminal record and a debt of €11.5 million. Haavel owns a UK company where Disco Elysium rights are held. A court hearing in October 2022 included statements from Kurvitz. By December 2022, Kender dropped his lawsuit after Kompus returned €4.8 million to ZA/UM. Kurvitz and Rostov still claimed illegal actions led to their firing.
In March 2023, ZA/UM said all legal cases with former members were resolved. Kender had sold his shares, repaid debts, and paid the studio’s legal fees. The studio said Kurvitz and Rostov’s lawsuit was dropped due to lack of evidence. Details of the cases remain private. Kurvitz and Rostov said ZA/UM’s statement was misleading and claimed they were still minority shareholders. They said their employment lawsuit was dismissed as part of a campaign against them and planned to pursue legal options.
After Kurvitz, Rostov, and Hindpere left, work on Y12 continued for months under Argo Tuulik and Dora Klindžić until management canceled it in mid-2022. Tuulik and Klindžić were later asked to create a standalone expansion, X7, later called Locust City: A Disco Elysium Story, focused on characters Cuno and Cunoesse. Management approved the project without planning time. Production began before the team had a full plan. They gained more staff after Kender’s project P1 was canceled. In May 2023, People Make Games reported on ZA/UM’s legal issues, featuring Tuulik. Klindžić said executives isolated Tuulik for criticizing them in a documentary. The team created a well-received demo for X7 by late 2023.
In February 2024, GLHF reported that ZA/UM laid off 25% of its staff, including Tuulik and Klindžić, and canceled X7 and Y12. Tuulik said layoffs targeted women and employees who raised concerns about working conditions. PC Gamer noted ZA/UM’s remaining projects were M0, a mobile Disco Elysium game, and C4, an unrelated RPG.
ZA/UM’s C4 project, later called Zero Parades: For Dead Spies, is an RPG with a similar style to Disco Elysium, involving a female spy. Previews showed similarities in art and interface. The game is planned for 2026.
Conflicts at ZA/UM led to four projects by former members aiming to continue Disco Elysium. Kurvitz and Rostov started Red Info in 2022, backed by $10 million from NetEase and writer Chris Avellone. Three other projects were announced in October 2024 by separate studios.
Disco Elysium’s unique approach inspired Esoteric Ebb, a game influenced by Disco Elysium and Planescape: Torment. It takes place in a traditional fantasy world and uses skill checks instead of combat, based on the player’s internal voices.