C4: The Intriguing Blend of Espionage and Psychedelic Sci-Fi from ZA/UM

Disco Elysium creator ZA/UM – or at least the remaining members following a turbulent few years filled with disputes, terminations, and legal battles – has unveiled its upcoming title: a dice-rolling blend of hallucinogenic sci-fi and espionage thriller known as C4.

C4 entrusts gamers with the role of an operative serving a dubious global power who becomes “entangled in a ruthless, covert battle for truth and influence.” It presents a hunt for secrets, set against a backdrop of obscure figures and concealed conflicts, said to offer a blend of player reflection, rich character-driven dialogue, and dice-based high-stakes confrontations.

“However, it is the mind that takes precedence in C4,” ZA/UM clarifies. “More fragile and in some ways more potent than the tangible realm, it can be erased, altered, reorganized, and of course significantly transformed through consistent use of mind-altering substances. Players must fortify themselves with whatever solace they can find to navigate the turbulent canvas of reality.”

In a brief conversation with the media prior to C4’s official reveal, ZA/UM writer Siim “Kosmos” Sianamäe shed some light on the philosophy behind C4’s development. “We aim to build on what we’ve accomplished before,” he stated, “but not merely by repeating it or rehashing it. This is not Disco Elysium 2; this is C4. We’ve spent the past three years creating this brand-new, captivating, entirely original work that delves into the theme every member of the ZA/UM collective is deeply passionate about: espionage.”

Co-writer Jim Ashilevi added, “[This] is a game centered around espionage – espionage activities, loyalties, betrayals – [but it] is unlike 007, with his hero complex, the Bond girls, gadgets. It’s more akin to Slow Horses: engaging in the work you love even if it does not earn you fame or recognition. No heroes, only the odor of failure.”

And failure appears to be a core motif of C4. “What sets us apart from other RPGs out there,” Ashilevi continued, “is our approach to failing forward. Instead of failure causing the player to reload or cheat, we turn failure into a delightful experience, validating the player’s choices when other games might dismiss them. This is something very unique to our titles, and it is universally understood that no one fails more frequently than spies.”

As for how all this might manifest in more explicit terms, that remains uncertain. For now, ZA/UM seems content to communicate in broader thematic strokes, with C4’s announcement trailer being accompanied by Sianamäe’s assertion that “betrayal can only occur when love is present.”

What the studio is eager to share, however, is a vast array of inspirations they are pulling from for their latest venture, spanning from the spy fiction of John le Carré to the “unconventional” science fiction of Ursula K. Le Guin, Philip K. Dick, and Stanisław Lem. Park Chan-wook and the French TV drama Le Bureau also get a nod, with Ashilevi pointing out that the latter “truly [captures] how ordinary civilians can become ensnared or lured into intelligence work, and how keeping secrets becomes compounded for those members of humanity who practice this profession.”

At this point, there is no indication of a release date – or even targeted platforms – for C4, but ZA/UM states that it intends to share more critical information during next week’s Game Developer Conference.

C4 marks the first game to emerge from ZA/UM since the critically acclaimed Disco Elysium of 2019, following years of intricate legal disputes among executives and former members of the creative team. With at least some of that now reportedly settled, and with various members of the new Disco Elysium team now distributed globally, several new projects have been announced by Disco Elysium alumni since October.

In the UK, there are Dark Math Games and Longdue – two studios founded by former ZA/UM developers that both announced spiritual successors to Disco Elysium last year. Longdue is working on a “psychogeographic RPG” just unveiled as Hopetown, while Dark Math is developing a detective RPG titled XXX Nightshift. Furthermore, former Disco Elysium writer Argo Tuulik also announced his