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NME

Several developers who worked on Disco Elysium reportedly “involuntarily” left ZA/UM, but the company says development “still is a collective effort.”

• READ MORE: Veteran composer Inon Zur talks 20 years of Bethesda: “‘Starfield’ is my best score to date”

On October 1, a Medium post written by ZA/UM founder Martin Luiga alleged that several members of the core team left “involuntarily” at the end of 2021.

Luiga announced the “dissolution of the ZA/UM Cultural Association” and stated that Disco Elysium lead designer Robert Kurvitz, writer Helen Hindpere, and art director Aleksander Rostov were let go.

“I, Martin Luiga, a founding member and Secretary of the ZA/UM cultural association, as well as the assembler of most of the core team, am hereby dissolving the ZA/UM cultural association (not to be confused with the ZA/UM company, on which subject I would note that neither Kurvitz, Hindpere nor Rostov are working there since the end of last year and their leaving the company was involuntary,” Luiga wrote.

“Which would seem like bad news for the loving fans that are waiting for the Disco sequel… The reason for dissolving the cultural organization is that it no longer represents the ethos it was founded on.”

Today (October 3), a statement was released by ZA/UM studio representatives (via GamesRadar) which claims the development of Disco Elysium remains a “collective effort.” You can read the full statement below:

“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.”

In other news, Frances Townsend has stepped down from the role of Activision Blizzard‘s chief compliance officer.

The post ZA/UM says ‘Disco Elysium’ remains a “collective effort” despite “involuntary” departures appeared first on NME.

NME

While Overwatch 2 is right around the corner, developer Blizzard Entertainment is preparing to shut down servers for the first Overwatch. If you’re looking to see when each game will be available, here’s when Overwatch 2 comes out – and when the first Overwatch‘s servers will go offline.

• READ MORE: ‘Overwatch 2’ release date, trailers and everything we know so far

Overwatch 1 servers will shut down on October 3, at 5PM BST / 6PM CEST / 9AM PDT.

That’s a day before Overwatch 2 comes out, with Blizzard’s next shooter launching on October 4 at 8PM BST / 9PM CEST / 12PM PDT / 3PM EDT. As Blizzard has pointed out, timezone differences in the eastern hemisphere mean that the shooter will launch on October 5 for some countries, including Australia and China.

The gap between Overwatch servers going down and the sequel launching means there will be just over 24 hours where fans will not be able to play either game.

As the launch of Overwatch 2 approaches, fans have questioned whether Blizzard’s approach to monetising the series goes in the right direction. Last week, fans highlighted that one skin for Junker Queen could cost around £18, and could potentially cost even more.

In September, it was also confirmed that Overwatch 2 would require unlocking agents through a battle pass.

Blizzard went on to explain the decision, with general manager Walter Kong saying that “Heroes are the single most engaging content that we have in the game. And as we designed this model, it seemed to be a very strong fit to put those heroes into our new engagement systems.”

In other Overwatch 2 news, Blizzard has announced that it will be holding a tournament for the LGBTQ+ community. Designed to offer “an inclusive and welcoming environment for underrepresented genders,” potential competitors can sign up for the tournament here.

Elsewhere, controversial Activision Blizzard executive Frances Townsend has stepped down and will now serve as an official advisor to CEO Bobby Kotick and the company’s board of directors.

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