Argo Tuulik, Disco Elysium writer and co-founder of new RPG studio Summer Eternal, says he’s being sued by Riaz Moola, the founder of competing RPG studio Longdue, with an injunction preventing Tuulik from working on or promoting his new studio’s work.
“Got some news,” Tuulik wrote on X, “[CoGrammar] on behalf of Longdue and Riaz Moola has taken me to court and was granted an injunction against me, preventing me from working on anything Summer Eternal related till April 2025.” CoGrammar is a tech skills training company founded by Moola.
Tuulik further alleges he has received “baseless legal threats” from his former employer, Disco Elysium studio ZA/UM, in collaboration with Moola. “Today, I learned press has been receiving anonymous tips insinuating there is conflict between myself and [third Disco successor studio Dark Math],” Tuulik wrote. “The Za/Moola—Riaz/UM alliance has been behind my legal struggles and silence as of late.” Tuulik also shared images of letters from ZA/UM and CoGRammar alleging “Breach of Contract, Breach of Confidentiality, and Copyright Infringement” from the former, and “Serious breaches of your legal obligations to the company” from the latter.
Tuulik was a writer on Disco Elysium who, among other contributions, was the primary creator of Cuno and the Hardy Boys. Tuulik was laid off from ZA/UM in February with the cancellation of a “standalone expansion” to Disco Elysium. Tuulik and other developers at ZA/UM allege that the project was mismanaged, including the skipping of an industry-standard preproduction period. Tuulik’s recently-announced development co-op, Summer Eternal, is one of the most exciting of the schismatic former Disco Dev operations.
Moola, meanwhile, is a curious new figure in the post-Disco Elysium saga. A Forbes 30-under-30 list alumnus and founder of multiple tech companies, Moola is the chairman and investor of Longdue, an RPG studio working on a Disco-inspired game that boasts as-of-yet unidentified former developers from ZA/UM. Adding more confusion to the story, I have previously been contacted by Moola under a Dark Math Games email address, with the signature identifying him as a co-founder of the company. Dark Math is yet another studio boasting former Disco Elysium devs working on a spiritual successor to the beloved RPG. Dark Math and its game, XXX Nightshift, were announced on the same day as Longdue and Summer Eternal.
It remains unclear what exactly transpired between all the parties involved, but the messiness of the dispute is reminiscent of the conflict that sundered ZA/UM in the first place back in 2021. Last month, I broke down the “who’s who” of the five studios contesting Disco Elysium’s legacy, as well as their respective chances of living up to that promise.
