Baldur's Gate 3 actress criticized RPG devs who are creating a „spiritual heir” to Disco Elysium
The actress known for her role as Karlach in Baldur's Gate 3 has spoken out about cooperation with studios that claim the legacy of Disco Elysium. However, her opinion on the issue is part of a very complex problem.
Samantha Beart, an actress recognized for her role as the charismatic Karlach in Baldur's Gate 3, expressed strong criticism of new projects being developed "in the spirit" of Disco Elysium (and it's worth noting that currently, at least three titles are claiming to be the "heir" to the popular Estonian RPG). On her X profile, she criticized the studios that try to continue the game's legacy without the participation of its main developer, Robert Kurvitz. As Beart expressed:
To the next studio that tries this: if your “spiritual successor” to Disco Elysium does not involve creator Robert Kurvitz, then save both of us some time and miss me with that casting call.
The actress, who was likely approached to be recruited for a project by a studio established after the breakup of ZA/UM, doesn't hide her respect for Kurvitz and his work—to the extent that she rejects such offers if she doesn't see his name associated with them. This position perfectly reflects the tensions that still arouse controversy related to the circumstances of the breakup of the Estonian studio.
Three studios, three different visions (actually four)
After the tumultuous split of Disco Elysium developers, three new studios were established (actually, even four, but more on that soon). The last of them is Summer Eternal, composed of game writers Argo Tuulika and Olga Moskvina, as well as other key developers such as Anastasia Ivanova (former concept artist at ZA/UM) and Lenval Brown (narrator in The Final Cut). The studio announced an RPG "of complexity and ambition worthy of competing with our miserable, magnificent world."
Two other teams also announced their "spiritual successors" to Disco Elysium. The first one, Longdue, is working on a "psychogeographic RPG," and the second - Dark Math Games - is creating XXX Nightshift.
What's important, none of these studios collaborate with Robert Kurvitz. He alone, along with Alexander Rostov (artistic director of DE), founded the Red Info studio back in 2022, which we can essentially add to the pool of the other three teams created as a result of the ZA/UM split.
The fall of ZA/UM and internal conflicts
The backstage of ZA/UM's breakup still arouses emotions. Recently, the developers of Disco Elysium revealed in a 15-hour interview that key creators - Kurvitz and Rostov - were sidelined in 2021 as a result of "corporate intrigue." As they claim, the studio's management sought to limit Kurvitz's influence, relegating him to the position of just a "mere screenwriter." Kurvitz was even persuaded by investor Tonis Haavel that the aforementioned Rostov wasn't proving himself as an artistic director, which led to further tension.
As a result, ZA/UM split into three competing groups, each of which claims the right to the legacy of Disco Elysium. Samantha Beart's words, however, show that the topic of "spiritual successors" to this extraordinary RPG will continue to echo past controversies for a long time. On one side, there are studios aiming to carry on DE's revolutionary narrative and gameplay style, while on the other, there are fans (including Beart) who think that without Kurvitz, these games will lack the original's "soul" and aren't worthy of being called its "successors."
