If you thought the drama surrounding Disco Elysium was finally wrapping up with ZA/UM releasing Zero Parades today (May 21st), buckle up - because someone just decided to throw a molotov cocktail into the discourse and it is deeply, beautifully chaotic.
According to Rock Paper Shotgun, one of the many Disco-like games that have spawned in the wake of the original's cultural impact chose Zero Parades' launch day - of all possible days - to drop a brand new trailer. Not only that, but the studio behind it, Hopetown, also made a point of announcing they had recruited yet another former ZA/UM developer to their roster. Subtle as a critical hit to the face.
The never-ending XP grind of CRPG beef
For the uninitiated, ZA/UM's backstory reads like a side quest you would accidentally stumble into at 2am. The studio behind the beloved Disco Elysium went through years of very public drama and turmoil, with several key developers departing under circumstances that were, let's say, not exactly a clean save file.
That exodus created fertile ground for a whole genre of spiritual successors, each one racing to hoover up the talent and goodwill left behind. Hopetown has been particularly aggressive about flying that flag, and this latest move - timing a trailer drop and a dev hire announcement to land exactly on their rival's release day - suggests someone in that studio has a very particular sense of humor, or a very particular grudge. Possibly both.
The real final boss is the discourse
Zero Parades is officially out now and carries the weight of being ZA/UM's answer to years of questions about what comes next for the studio. Meanwhile, games like Hopetown's project are essentially arguing that the real Disco Elysium legacy lives with the people who left, not the studio that kept the name.
It is the gaming equivalent of showing up to your ex's wedding wearing the same dress, except the dress is a narrative-driven CRPG and the wedding has a 78 on Metacritic. Whether Hopetown's move is brilliant PR trolling or just spectacularly bad timing is up for debate - but as Rock Paper Shotgun notes, the squabble over Disco Elysium's legacy is very much still loading.
