Developer ZA/UM’s next game is C4 , as brand new espionage game that received a cryptic teaser today. In a press pre-briefing before it’s announcement, ZA/UM confirmed that while the game builds on what the studio has done in previous games, C4 is not Disco Elysium 2 .
C4 ‘s announcement comes over five years after the release of Disco Elysium , the RPG that propelled ZA/UM to stardom in 2019. While the studio had reportedly been working on a sequel to that game at some point, as well as a DLC, those plans changed amid a flurry of legal troubles and layoffs at the studio. Now, ZA/UM has revealed that it’s been working on an entirely new game.
So, what is C4 ? Its first teaser trailer doesn’t reveal too much. We get a cryptic monologue about spies over some surreal imagery. It doesn’t explain much, but it certainly seems to retain Disco Elysium ‘s signature style.
Digital Trends learned a bit more about the project in a press briefing ahead of its reveal. What we know for sure is that it’s an espionage game inspired by the works of John le Carré and Park Chan-wook. ZA/UM notes that the game doubles down on what the studio does well, but stressed that it’s a brand new game, not Disco Elysium 2 . Players can expect another dialogue-driven RPG with tabletop elements, as encounters are determined through dice role.
The one other detail we did learn is that failure is a big part of C4. ZA/UM describes it as having a “fail forwards” mentality that rewards players rather than punishing them, much like Disco Elysium . The studio also stresses that its take on spies won’t be in the vein of James Bond . That’s all we have to go on for now.
C4 comes after years of trouble behind the scenes at ZA/UM. In 2022, the studio parted ways with several of the creative forces behind Disco Elysium, including designer Robert Kurvitz. That kicked off a complicated legal war between the former employees and ZA/UM. While that brewed, ZA/UM reportedly cancelled both Disco Elysium 2 and a DLC for the first game, codenamed X7. Last year, the studio laid off roughly a quarter of its staff, leaving its projects in limbo. In the fallout, three Disco Elysium spiritual successors have been announced at other studios.
