Two years after a controversy over Doom Eternal's soundtrack mixing highlighted a behind-the-scenes conflict between the game's developers and composer Mick Gordon, Gordon is finally speaking out.

In a lengthy post on Medium, Gordon has offered his side of the conflict over Doom Eternal with an account that includes allegations that id Software failed to pay him for half the game's soundtrack, and that executive producer Marty Stratton was a recurringly abusive presence throughout his work on the score and the OST.

For context, Gordon's issues were first highlighted back in 2020 when the Doom Eternal soundtrack was released alongside the collector's edition and fans noted discrepancies in sound mixing between the soundtrack and the same piece in Doom 2016. At the time Gordon pointed out on social media that he didn't mix the tracks in question, leading Doom Eternal executive producer Marty Stratton to issue a public statement about Gordon's work on the game. Stratton's account included multiple concerns that Gordon wouldn't be able to deliver his promised work on time, and ended by noting that they likely wouldn't be working together again.

Now, however, Gordon paints a very different picture.

Mick Gordon alleges crunch and multiple pay issues

He begins by describing being given tight deadlines for final versions of his promised musical tracks — two finished pieces of level music per month. However, he says he lacked direction as to what kind of levels or environments those tracks were meant to cover due to constant development changes and missed milestones.

Gordon then claims he proposed an alternative scheduling plan to management that would allow him to write broader, reusable themes first that could then be shaped into specific final versions as levels were hammered out, but says that Stratton struck it down. This resulted, Gordon claims, in severe crunch for him as he worked late nights finalizing music for levels that hadn't been designed yet, only for that music to be thrown out later when it didn't fit the levels made after the fact.

Gordon notes that all this was punctuated by slow communication from management, him being cut out of meetings about the music, and increasing ostracization from the rest of the team.

That wasn't all though. Gordon also complains of multiple pay issues over his time working on Doom Eternal, including at least one attempt to deny payment because id Software had "changed their mind" and no longer wanted to use the music he had provided, and other delays or deferrals of on-time payment. At one point, Gordon claims he went unpaid for 11 months. When the game and soundtrack finally released, Gordon says he realized they had used almost all of his music, including numerous tracks he had thought had been rejected, but had only paid him for half of it - and as of his post says they have yet to do so.

Gordon also claims id Software announced the aforementioned Doom Eternal OST without ever having made a deal with him to produce one, and ignored his attempts to make such a deal. He eventually approached Bethesda directly for a deal, and through multiple communication and contract delays got one for 12 songs, which he crunched to complete on time. However, Gordon goes on to say that Stratton once again got involved in negotiations, adding additional pressure to finish quickly and revealing that audio designer Chad Mossholder had been working on an alternative OST for months. Mossholder's work, which Gordon says was largely edits of his own original score, ultimately formed the bulk of the final release.

"I never quit Doom, I quit a toxic client"

Following the release, Gordon relates that Stratton scheduled a call with him to discuss the negative feedback to the OST that largely involved Stratton berating and blaming him for its failings. Gordon claims they ultimately agreed to release a joint statement and was expecting a draft to arrive in his inbox, when he was blindsided by Stratton's publication of an open letter on Reddit instead, over which Gordon says he was harassed, doxxed, and bombarded with emails and phone calls. Gordon pursued legal action, but claims settlement negotiations fell apart when he demanded Stratton take the Reddit post down. At one point, Gordon says he was offered six figures to take full public responsibility for the OST's failings, an offer he declined.

Despite months of back-and-forth negotiations during which time Microsoft announced it would acquire Bethesda and over which Gordon claims Stratton became increasingly hostile, an agreement was never reached.

"I’ve worked on some great games, built lifelong friendships and worked my butt off in the trenches with some of the best creative minds on earth," Gordon concludes. "I’ve had many great experiences in the game industry. My 'collaboration' with Marty Stratton wasn’t one of them.

"I never quit DOOM. I quit a toxic client.

"Marty couldn’t accept that I never wanted to work with him again, and made his best attempt to send my career into a nosedive as punishment. He resorted to lies and innuendo that fell apart under the most basic level of scrutiny, then tried to bury the issue under a stack of cash."

Bethesda and Stratton have yet to reply to Gordon's accusations. IGN has reached out to Bethesda for comment.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Two years after a controversy over Doom Eternal's soundtrack mixing highlighted a behind-the-scenes conflict between the game's developers and composer Mick Gordon, Gordon is finally speaking out.

In a lengthy post on Medium, Gordon has offered his side of the conflict over Doom Eternal with an account that includes allegations that id Software failed to pay him for half the game's soundtrack, and that executive producer Marty Stratton was a recurringly abusive presence throughout his work on the score and the OST.

For context, Gordon's issues were first highlighted back in 2020 when the Doom Eternal soundtrack was released alongside the collector's edition and fans noted discrepancies in sound mixing between the soundtrack and the same piece in Doom 2016. At the time Gordon pointed out on social media that he didn't mix the tracks in question, leading Doom Eternal executive producer Marty Stratton to issue a public statement about Gordon's work on the game. Stratton's account included multiple concerns that Gordon wouldn't be able to deliver his promised work on time, and ended by noting that they likely wouldn't be working together again.

Now, however, Gordon paints a very different picture.

Mick Gordon alleges crunch and multiple pay issues

He begins by describing being given tight deadlines for final versions of his promised musical tracks — two finished pieces of level music per month. However, he says he lacked direction as to what kind of levels or environments those tracks were meant to cover due to constant development changes and missed milestones.

Gordon then claims he proposed an alternative scheduling plan to management that would allow him to write broader, reusable themes first that could then be shaped into specific final versions as levels were hammered out, but says that Stratton struck it down. This resulted, Gordon claims, in severe crunch for him as he worked late nights finalizing music for levels that hadn't been designed yet, only for that music to be thrown out later when it didn't fit the levels made after the fact.

Gordon notes that all this was punctuated by slow communication from management, him being cut out of meetings about the music, and increasing ostracization from the rest of the team.

That wasn't all though. Gordon also complains of multiple pay issues over his time working on Doom Eternal, including at least one attempt to deny payment because id Software had "changed their mind" and no longer wanted to use the music he had provided, and other delays or deferrals of on-time payment. At one point, Gordon claims he went unpaid for 11 months. When the game and soundtrack finally released, Gordon says he realized they had used almost all of his music, including numerous tracks he had thought had been rejected, but had only paid him for half of it - and as of his post says they have yet to do so.

Gordon also claims id Software announced the aforementioned Doom Eternal OST without ever having made a deal with him to produce one, and ignored his attempts to make such a deal. He eventually approached Bethesda directly for a deal, and through multiple communication and contract delays got one for 12 songs, which he crunched to complete on time. However, Gordon goes on to say that Stratton once again got involved in negotiations, adding additional pressure to finish quickly and revealing that audio designer Chad Mossholder had been working on an alternative OST for months. Mossholder's work, which Gordon says was largely edits of his own original score, ultimately formed the bulk of the final release.

"I never quit Doom, I quit a toxic client"

Following the release, Gordon relates that Stratton scheduled a call with him to discuss the negative feedback to the OST that largely involved Stratton berating and blaming him for its failings. Gordon claims they ultimately agreed to release a joint statement and was expecting a draft to arrive in his inbox, when he was blindsided by Stratton's publication of an open letter on Reddit instead, over which Gordon says he was harassed, doxxed, and bombarded with emails and phone calls. Gordon pursued legal action, but claims settlement negotiations fell apart when he demanded Stratton take the Reddit post down. At one point, Gordon says he was offered six figures to take full public responsibility for the OST's failings, an offer he declined.

Despite months of back-and-forth negotiations during which time Microsoft announced it would acquire Bethesda and over which Gordon claims Stratton became increasingly hostile, an agreement was never reached.

"I’ve worked on some great games, built lifelong friendships and worked my butt off in the trenches with some of the best creative minds on earth," Gordon concludes. "I’ve had many great experiences in the game industry. My 'collaboration' with Marty Stratton wasn’t one of them.

"I never quit DOOM. I quit a toxic client.

"Marty couldn’t accept that I never wanted to work with him again, and made his best attempt to send my career into a nosedive as punishment. He resorted to lies and innuendo that fell apart under the most basic level of scrutiny, then tried to bury the issue under a stack of cash."

Bethesda and Stratton have yet to reply to Gordon's accusations. IGN has reached out to Bethesda for comment.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Letitia Wright says her on-set accident was "traumatic," recalling the motorcycle accident that left her with a fractured shoulder, concussion, and other injuries.

“I’m still processing it,” she told Variety. “I’m still working through it in therapy. It was really traumatic.”

The accident occurred during the film’s Boston shoot in August 2021 while Wright was shooting a chase sequence. The shoot involved the use of a “biscuit rig” which allowed the camera to film Wright over the shoulder while riding a motorbike in a real-world environment. According to producer Nate Moore, it “clipped a median and sheared the bike off, and it tumbled.”

Director Ryan Coogler wasn’t present at the time – Wright was shooting the scene with the film's second unit crew.

“It was about how you can imagine,” said Coogler about getting the call. “I mean, I love these actors. That’s me and Chad’s little sister. Imagine getting that call that your little sister’s hurt. It’s the fucking worst thing in the world.”

Both Coogler and Marvel president Kevin Feige visited Wright in Boston following the accident.

“It was horrifying on any production happening to anybody,” said Feige. “It was particularly harsh on this production that was already, uh…. emotionally strained.”

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever continues the story of Black Panther following the death of the original film’s star, Chadwick Boseman. And Wright was determined to finish what she started.

“I just remember wanting to finish my film, man,” she said. “I think that was one of the first things I said to Ryan. And he was like, ‘Tish, you need to recover.’”

Wright then went back to London to heal, and production was paused until January 2022, but she still had to face post-concussion syndrome during the restarted shoot.

“I had great, great, great medical support, great patience on set,” she said. “I’m just extremely proud of myself. I’m extremely proud of Ryan, of the team, for just the resilience — overcoming adversities every step of the way. When I finished filming, I cried like a little baby.”

IGN’s Wakanda Forever review gave it 7/10 and said: “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever had to be a sequel to a cultural juggernaut, a tease of upcoming MCU adventures, and of course, a loving farewell. There are stretches where the struggle to balance those mandates scatters the focus of the story, but nuanced and committed performances from the returning cast keep it grounded when it counts. Tenoch Huerta Mejía’s Namor is a strong foil to Shuri, challenging both her ideology and her grieving process, and his nation of Talokan gets a thoughtful (if rushed) history to complement the film’s themes of colonialism. Director/co-writer Ryan Coogler’s efforts are at their most powerful when Wakanda Forever is in conversation with the loss of T’Challa – of Chadwick Boseman. The specifics of Wakanda Forever’s long-winded plot will likely leave little impact, but that doesn’t stop the new Black Panther from standing tall.”

Want to read more about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever? Check out the Black Panther 2 plot from before the film was rewritten and find out why “Namor” is pronounced in different ways.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Letitia Wright says her on-set accident was "traumatic," recalling the motorcycle accident that left her with a fractured shoulder, concussion, and other injuries.

“I’m still processing it,” she told Variety. “I’m still working through it in therapy. It was really traumatic.”

The accident occurred during the film’s Boston shoot in August 2021 while Wright was shooting a chase sequence. The shoot involved the use of a “biscuit rig” which allowed the camera to film Wright over the shoulder while riding a motorbike in a real-world environment. According to producer Nate Moore, it “clipped a median and sheared the bike off, and it tumbled.”

Director Ryan Coogler wasn’t present at the time – Wright was shooting the scene with the film's second unit crew.

“It was about how you can imagine,” said Coogler about getting the call. “I mean, I love these actors. That’s me and Chad’s little sister. Imagine getting that call that your little sister’s hurt. It’s the fucking worst thing in the world.”

Both Coogler and Marvel president Kevin Feige visited Wright in Boston following the accident.

“It was horrifying on any production happening to anybody,” said Feige. “It was particularly harsh on this production that was already, uh…. emotionally strained.”

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever continues the story of Black Panther following the death of the original film’s star, Chadwick Boseman. And Wright was determined to finish what she started.

“I just remember wanting to finish my film, man,” she said. “I think that was one of the first things I said to Ryan. And he was like, ‘Tish, you need to recover.’”

Wright then went back to London to heal, and production was paused until January 2022, but she still had to face post-concussion syndrome during the restarted shoot.

“I had great, great, great medical support, great patience on set,” she said. “I’m just extremely proud of myself. I’m extremely proud of Ryan, of the team, for just the resilience — overcoming adversities every step of the way. When I finished filming, I cried like a little baby.”

IGN’s Wakanda Forever review gave it 7/10 and said: “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever had to be a sequel to a cultural juggernaut, a tease of upcoming MCU adventures, and of course, a loving farewell. There are stretches where the struggle to balance those mandates scatters the focus of the story, but nuanced and committed performances from the returning cast keep it grounded when it counts. Tenoch Huerta Mejía’s Namor is a strong foil to Shuri, challenging both her ideology and her grieving process, and his nation of Talokan gets a thoughtful (if rushed) history to complement the film’s themes of colonialism. Director/co-writer Ryan Coogler’s efforts are at their most powerful when Wakanda Forever is in conversation with the loss of T’Challa – of Chadwick Boseman. The specifics of Wakanda Forever’s long-winded plot will likely leave little impact, but that doesn’t stop the new Black Panther from standing tall.”

Want to read more about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever? Check out the Black Panther 2 plot from before the film was rewritten and find out why “Namor” is pronounced in different ways.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

With the Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 launch on the horizon, the first battle royale will take a short break. Activision is taking Warzone offline for 12 days to focus on keeping the sequel stable and has confirmed cosmetics will not carry over in the new game.

In the latest Call of Duty blog, patch notes outline how the studio will handle the next big release over the holidays. On November 16 at 8 am PT, Call of Duty: Warzone servers will temporarily go offline, and developer Raven Software estimates service should return on November 28 at 10 am PT.

Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 will launch on November 16 at 10 am PT as part of Modern Warfare 2 Season 01. With the downtime, developers at Raven Software “will be focused on ensuring the new Warzone 2.0 free-to-play ecosystem is running effectively.”

The blog also notes this gives them time to observe an upcoming US holiday and ensure everything is “fully stable” with both games.

The original Warzone will relaunch later on as Call of Duty: Warzone Caldera, and players can check out the 2.0 release for free during the outage. There are also “a few items” that will be gifted to Warzone players to use in Warzone 2.0.

However, the item bonuses end there, and player cosmetics will not carry over from the original Warzone. The Caldera relaunch is still considered a separate game and not tied to Modern Warfare II progress like Warzone 2.0. Weapon XP, Inventories, Battle Pass content, weapons, and store bundles will only be available in Caldera. Activision explained this is due to the culmination of a few obstacles in its patch notes:

“This is due to a combination of feedback from the community, technical limitations, and a need to simplify the next and newest Warzone to create a seamless player experience moving forward.”

The first battle royale won’t have an in-game store anymore, but COD Points can be transferred into Warzone 2.0. Unfortunately, those handy buffs in 2XP and 2WXP Tokens can’t move between games, either.

For more on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, make sure to check out our breakdown on everything new with the shooter.

Andrea Shearon is a freelance contributor for IGN covering games and entertainment. She's worn several hats over her seven-year career in the games industry, with bylines over at Fanbyte, USA Today's FTW, TheGamer, VG247, and RPG Site. Find her on Twitter (@Maajora) or the Materia Possessions podcast chatting about FFXIV, RPGs, and any series involving giant robots.

With the Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 launch on the horizon, the first battle royale will take a short break. Activision is taking Warzone offline for 12 days to focus on keeping the sequel stable and has confirmed cosmetics will not carry over in the new game.

In the latest Call of Duty blog, patch notes outline how the studio will handle the next big release over the holidays. On November 16 at 8 am PT, Call of Duty: Warzone servers will temporarily go offline, and developer Raven Software estimates service should return on November 28 at 10 am PT.

Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 will launch on November 16 at 10 am PT as part of Modern Warfare 2 Season 01. With the downtime, developers at Raven Software “will be focused on ensuring the new Warzone 2.0 free-to-play ecosystem is running effectively.”

The blog also notes this gives them time to observe an upcoming US holiday and ensure everything is “fully stable” with both games.

The original Warzone will relaunch later on as Call of Duty: Warzone Caldera, and players can check out the 2.0 release for free during the outage. There are also “a few items” that will be gifted to Warzone players to use in Warzone 2.0.

However, the item bonuses end there, and player cosmetics will not carry over from the original Warzone. The Caldera relaunch is still considered a separate game and not tied to Modern Warfare II progress like Warzone 2.0. Weapon XP, Inventories, Battle Pass content, weapons, and store bundles will only be available in Caldera. Activision explained this is due to the culmination of a few obstacles in its patch notes:

“This is due to a combination of feedback from the community, technical limitations, and a need to simplify the next and newest Warzone to create a seamless player experience moving forward.”

The first battle royale won’t have an in-game store anymore, but COD Points can be transferred into Warzone 2.0. Unfortunately, those handy buffs in 2XP and 2WXP Tokens can’t move between games, either.

For more on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, make sure to check out our breakdown on everything new with the shooter.

Andrea Shearon is a freelance contributor for IGN covering games and entertainment. She's worn several hats over her seven-year career in the games industry, with bylines over at Fanbyte, USA Today's FTW, TheGamer, VG247, and RPG Site. Find her on Twitter (@Maajora) or the Materia Possessions podcast chatting about FFXIV, RPGs, and any series involving giant robots.

A prequel series to Stephen King’s It has found its showrunners. According to Variety, the upcoming HBO Max series titled Welcome to Derry has added Jason Fuchs and Brad Caleb Kane as co-showrunners.

The project was revealed to be in development earlier this year and is said to explore the origins of Pennywise the clown – the demonic entity that terrorizes the children of Derry throughout the hit horror film and its sequel.

Although details of the show remain under wraps, Welcome to Derry will act as a prequel to the recent It: Chapter One and It: Chapter Two.

HBO Max has picked up the show for a full series commitment.

Jason Fuchs has already been on board for some time, with reports that he penned the script for the show’s upcoming debut episode. The script is said to be based on a story he wrote along with Andy and Barbara Muschietti who teamed up on the movies with Andy directing and Barbara as producer. Fuchs was a co-producer on It: Chapter Two.

Fuchs previously wrote Ice Age: Continental Drift as well as the upcoming adaptation of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Brad Caleb Kane wrote several episodes of the hit sci-fi TV show, Fringe and starred as Lanny in Starship Troopers.

At the moment, it’s unknown whether previous cast members from the recent films will appear in the series. However, it’s reported that there’s already a writer’s room for the project.

It: Chapter Two seemingly tied up the story of Pennywise in 2019, but director Andy Muschietti has already explained that he feels there’s a whole mythology that could be explored.

“Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore,” he said. “It has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans for hundreds of years, every 27 years. So, you can imagine the amount of material.”

Want to read more about Stephen King’s It? Check out our top 31 horror movie villains as well as the best Stephen King movies of all time.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

A prequel series to Stephen King’s It has found its showrunners. According to Variety, the upcoming HBO Max series titled Welcome to Derry has added Jason Fuchs and Brad Caleb Kane as co-showrunners.

The project was revealed to be in development earlier this year and is said to explore the origins of Pennywise the clown – the demonic entity that terrorizes the children of Derry throughout the hit horror film and its sequel.

Although details of the show remain under wraps, Welcome to Derry will act as a prequel to the recent It: Chapter One and It: Chapter Two.

HBO Max has picked up the show for a full series commitment.

Jason Fuchs has already been on board for some time, with reports that he penned the script for the show’s upcoming debut episode. The script is said to be based on a story he wrote along with Andy and Barbara Muschietti who teamed up on the movies with Andy directing and Barbara as producer. Fuchs was a co-producer on It: Chapter Two.

Fuchs previously wrote Ice Age: Continental Drift as well as the upcoming adaptation of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Brad Caleb Kane wrote several episodes of the hit sci-fi TV show, Fringe and starred as Lanny in Starship Troopers.

At the moment, it’s unknown whether previous cast members from the recent films will appear in the series. However, it’s reported that there’s already a writer’s room for the project.

It: Chapter Two seemingly tied up the story of Pennywise in 2019, but director Andy Muschietti has already explained that he feels there’s a whole mythology that could be explored.

“Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore,” he said. “It has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans for hundreds of years, every 27 years. So, you can imagine the amount of material.”

Want to read more about Stephen King’s It? Check out our top 31 horror movie villains as well as the best Stephen King movies of all time.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

The Disco Elysium situation has gotten even messier as its former directors are accusing the ZA/UM's majority shareholders of obtaining control of the company by fraud as the company is saying these employees were fired for misconduct.

In October 2022, Disco Elysium editor Martin Luiga shared that key members of ZA/UM, including lead writer and designer Robert Kurvitz, writer Helen Hindpere, and lead of art and design Aleksander Rostov, had left the company in an "involuntary" manner. Later that month, Kurvitz filed a lawsuit against the company, and now we have a bit more details on his allegations against ZA/UM.

Kurvitz and Rostov took to Medium to share more details about the ongoing situation at ZA/UM, and they level some heavy claims against the current majority shareholders, Tütreke OÜ.

Tütreke OÜ, an Estonian company that is a vehicle for Ilmar Kompus and Tõnis Haavel, became majority shareholders of ZA/UM after it bought out the shares of Margus Linnamäe. Kurvitz and Rostov said all was well under Linnamäe, but everything changed when Kompus and Haavel took over.

"As soon as they became majority shareholders, we were quickly excluded from daily operations, our employment was terminated and our access to the company’s information was shut off. Our firing came weeks after we started asking for documents and financial data, which is still being kept from us."

The two then go on to allege that "Tütreke OÜ must have obtained control over Zaum Studio OÜ by fraud." They state that they illegally used money from Zaum Studio OÜ itself to become the majority stakeholders with help from another minority shareholder named Kaur Kender.

Kurvitz, Rostov, and their lawyers believe this warrants up to three years imprisonment and that Haavel, who they claim is the "ringleader," is once again committing fraud after an incident in 2007.

ZA/UM, on the opposing side, has confirmed to GamesIndustry.biz that an Estonian press report of mismanagement and misconduct among "former senior employees" is true. ZA/UM did not specify any names in the statement, but the news follows the ongoing situation with Kurvitz, Hindpere, and Rostov.

ZA/UM says these employees "had limited to no engagement in their responsibilities and work, created a toxic work environment, demonstrated misconduct towards other employees including verbal abuse and gender discrimination, and attempted to illegally sell ZA/UM's intellectual property."

Speaking to Estonian Ekspress, Kompus explained the alleged toxic environment these employees fostered, and spoke of them by name.

"They treated their co-workers very badly," Kompus told the Ekspress. "Despite talking to them repeatedly, things did not improve. Therefore, the company was forced to fire them. Robert [Kurvitz] is said to have been known for belittling women and co-workers in the past, but this was previously unknown to the company. It would be very short-sighted of a growing international company to tolerate such behaviour."

GamesIndustry.biz's sources spoke of a "clash of visions between the Kompus and Kurvitz, saying it was "CEO corporate scheming on one side, a toxic auteur on the other."

It's clear there is bad blood on each side, and only time will tell how the story will play out. IGN will continue to update the story as developments happen.

All of this surrounds a game we gave a 9.6/10 to, saying that it is a "deep, sharply written, unique blend of noir-detective fiction and traditional pen-and-paper RPGs." Additionally, we said Disco Elysium - The Final Cut elevates the game from "an already phenomenal RPG to a true must-play masterpiece," and we awarded it a rare 10/10.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

The Disco Elysium situation has gotten even messier as its former directors are accusing the ZA/UM's majority shareholders of obtaining control of the company by fraud as the company is saying these employees were fired for misconduct.

In October 2022, Disco Elysium editor Martin Luiga shared that key members of ZA/UM, including lead writer and designer Robert Kurvitz, writer Helen Hindpere, and lead of art and design Aleksander Rostov, had left the company in an "involuntary" manner. Later that month, Kurvitz filed a lawsuit against the company, and now we have a bit more details on his allegations against ZA/UM.

Kurvitz and Rostov took to Medium to share more details about the ongoing situation at ZA/UM, and they level some heavy claims against the current majority shareholders, Tütreke OÜ.

Tütreke OÜ, an Estonian company that is a vehicle for Ilmar Kompus and Tõnis Haavel, became majority shareholders of ZA/UM after it bought out the shares of Margus Linnamäe. Kurvitz and Rostov said all was well under Linnamäe, but everything changed when Kompus and Haavel took over.

"As soon as they became majority shareholders, we were quickly excluded from daily operations, our employment was terminated and our access to the company’s information was shut off. Our firing came weeks after we started asking for documents and financial data, which is still being kept from us."

The two then go on to allege that "Tütreke OÜ must have obtained control over Zaum Studio OÜ by fraud." They state that they illegally used money from Zaum Studio OÜ itself to become the majority stakeholders with help from another minority shareholder named Kaur Kender.

Kurvitz, Rostov, and their lawyers believe this warrants up to three years imprisonment and that Haavel, who they claim is the "ringleader," is once again committing fraud after an incident in 2007.

ZA/UM, on the opposing side, has confirmed to GamesIndustry.biz that an Estonian press report of mismanagement and misconduct among "former senior employees" is true. ZA/UM did not specify any names in the statement, but the news follows the ongoing situation with Kurvitz, Hindpere, and Rostov.

ZA/UM says these employees "had limited to no engagement in their responsibilities and work, created a toxic work environment, demonstrated misconduct towards other employees including verbal abuse and gender discrimination, and attempted to illegally sell ZA/UM's intellectual property."

Speaking to Estonian Ekspress, Kompus explained the alleged toxic environment these employees fostered, and spoke of them by name.

"They treated their co-workers very badly," Kompus told the Ekspress. "Despite talking to them repeatedly, things did not improve. Therefore, the company was forced to fire them. Robert [Kurvitz] is said to have been known for belittling women and co-workers in the past, but this was previously unknown to the company. It would be very short-sighted of a growing international company to tolerate such behaviour."

GamesIndustry.biz's sources spoke of a "clash of visions between the Kompus and Kurvitz, saying it was "CEO corporate scheming on one side, a toxic auteur on the other."

It's clear there is bad blood on each side, and only time will tell how the story will play out. IGN will continue to update the story as developments happen.

All of this surrounds a game we gave a 9.6/10 to, saying that it is a "deep, sharply written, unique blend of noir-detective fiction and traditional pen-and-paper RPGs." Additionally, we said Disco Elysium - The Final Cut elevates the game from "an already phenomenal RPG to a true must-play masterpiece," and we awarded it a rare 10/10.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.