Former ZA/UM employees founded two different studios, and each makes the successor to Disco Elysium – a true detective story and a “psychogeographical” RPG

The cult role-playing detective Disco Elysium from ZA/UM will be five years old the other day, and on the eve of the anniversary, two different London studios, founded by former Disco developers, announced their existence to the world.

Image Source: ZA / UM

Dark Math Games was founded in 2023 by a 20-person splinter group from the original Disco Elysium team and is working on its spiritual successor, the “true” detective RPG XXX Nightshift.

XXX Nightshift takes place in the year 2086 at a luxury ski resort in Antarctica, where patrol operative Dinora Katz is stranded. It will be up to the player how the story develops and how it ends.

They promise a deep single-player experience, multi-faceted gameplay, a unique companion system and innovative role-playing mechanics. XXX Nightshift already has a Steam page, but no release date.

XXX Nightshift gameplay video

The second studio is called Longdue. Its members include “lead developers of the canceled sequel Disco Elysium,” former employees of Bungie, Rockstar Games and Brave At Night (the Yes, Your Grace series).

The Longdue project is positioned as a “psychogeographical” RPG that continues the work of Disco Elysium. Each decision affects the game world and the characters (including their psyche), blurring the boundaries between the mind and the environment.

The “psychogeographical” RPG from Longdue does not yet have a name or release date, but there is one concept art (it is attached below). In addition to Disco Elyisum, the developers were inspired by role-playing classics: from Ultima and Wizardry to Fallout and Planescape.

Image source: Longdue