Disco Elysium Studio Teases its Next Project, and It’s Not Disco Elysium 2

Today, Disco Elysium developer ZA/UM has offered just the tiniest tease of its next project: a game focused on the themes of spy and espionage currently being referred to as “Project C4”.

As part of the reveal, we got a look at a short teaser trailer, and were briefed on a few of the big ideas we can expect in C4…as well as what we should NOT expect. For one, we were told C4 is not Disco Elysium 2, but instead takes place in a completely original new world. We also were told that it’s explicitly not a 007-style spy tale. Instead, it’s inspired by the novels of John le Carré, especially the Smiley vs. Karla trilogy (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy, and Smiley’s People). It also includes elements of psychadelic sci-fi, borrowing from authors like Usula LeGuin and Philip K. Dick, and action sequences inspired by Park Chan-wook.

Project C4, we’re told, will be about the struggles of spies behind the scenes, espionage, allegiances, betrayals…and failure. Failure specifically will play a key role in Project C4 because it sounds like it will bring back one key element from Disco Elysium: the “fail forward” philosophy. Like in Disco, failure in C4 will not result in a reset or reload of the game. Instead, the story will move on, accounting for your failure. That means living with the consequences of your decisions, such as who to ally with, who to be loyal to, and how to spend your time. And yes, you’re still at the mercy of your dice rolls.

A press release offers a bit more clarity as to the story itself:

The world of [C4] is rife with shadowy characters who help move the pieces for competing geopolitical powers in a game of concealed conflict. The player sets out to complete a desperate assignment which will put them at risk of losing their life, or much worse – being exposed for what they really are.

As an Operant serving a questionable global power, the player finds themselves locked in a vicious, clandestine struggle for truth and influence. Yet it is the mind that takes centre stage in Project [C4]. More vulnerable and more powerful than the physical world, it can be erased, changed, reordered, and of course significantly altered through regular use of psychoactive substances amongst other means. Players must steel themselves with whatever comfort they can in order to survive the violent canvas of the real.

Unfortunately, it’s worth noting that while the studio name is the same, many of the people who worked on Disco Elysium will not be working on Project C4. Numerous former ZA/UM members have left the studio since Disco Elysium’s release, with multiple conflicting reports surfacing involving accusations of investor fraud and financial malfeasance, and counter-accusations of some developers creating a toxic work environment. People Make Games endeavored to sum up and reconcile these accounts in a lengthy video report, but the end result has been the splintering of ZA/UM into multiple new studios purportedly working on spiritual successors, with now what remains of ZA/UM focusing on Project C4. That leaves little hope left for a true Disco Elysium 2.

We’re expecting to see more of Project C4 from ZA/UM next week at the Game Developers Conference.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.