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ZA/UM

Independent game developer and publisher founded in 2015 and based in the UK, associated with the role-playing game Disco Elysium.

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  • studio-profile
  • za-um
  • disco-elysium

What ZA/UM is

ZA/UM describes itself as an independent game developer and publisher based in the UK and Europe, and states that the studio was founded in 2015. Its website says the company has grown into a global studio composed of nearly 100 writers, artists, engineers and producers. The studio's contact address is given as Unit 305, Brickfields, 37 Cremer St, Hoxton, London, E2 8HD. Steam's developer page for ZA/UM Studio describes it as an independent developer and publisher known for its debut game and its follow-up work.

The company handles its own releases rather than working only as a contracted studio. ZA/UM presents itself in the dual role of developer and publisher, and its Steam developer page lists the studio in the same role for the games it has released, describing it as an independent developer and publisher. The studio's own site does not name a parent company or group, and ZA/UM presents itself as independently owned and based in the UK and Europe, with the studio's Steam pages carrying ZA/UM as both developer and publisher for Disco Elysium - The Final Cut.

Disco Elysium

Disco Elysium is the studio's first game and the title in our database connected to ZA/UM. The studio states that it was released on PC in 2019. The Steam developer page lists Disco Elysium - The Final Cut with a release date of 15 October 2019. The studio says the game has won awards and Game of the Year honours, including four Game Awards, three BAFTAs and a D.I.C.E. Award. The store listing describes it as a role-playing game in which the player is a detective with a skill system, working across a city, interrogating characters, cracking murders or taking bribes as they choose.

A definitive edition followed. ZA/UM states that Disco Elysium: The Final Cut was released on PC, Mac and consoles in March 2021. The studio's Steam page also lists a soundtrack and art booklet release, dated 23 December 2019, described as 30 songs composed by Sea Power for the game with a 30-page digital artbooklet curated by Aleksander Rostov. That release is listed as separate add-on content for the game rather than as part of the base edition.

Disco Elysium on mobile

The studio's site also describes a mobile version of Disco Elysium. ZA/UM presents it as a re-imagining of the game designed around the habits of mobile users, with the story-driven role-playing adventure optimised for short play sessions so that players can pick it up and put it down anywhere. The studio frames the mobile release as a separate product from the PC and console editions rather than a straight port, built for a different pattern of play and for players who are used to shorter sessions.

Awards and recognition

The studio lists several industry awards for its debut game, including four Game Awards, three BAFTAs and a D.I.C.E. Award, along with Game of the Year honours. These are the figures the company publishes on its own site, covering the period after the game's 2019 release and its 2021 definitive edition. In our database, Disco Elysium is the game associated with the studio, and this profile covers ZA/UM in that role, using the studio's own published information rather than third-party accounts. The studio's official store carries merchandise from that collection, listed separately from the game itself.

Games

Questions people ask

When was ZA/UM founded?

The studio states on its website that ZA/UM Studio was founded in 2015.

Where is ZA/UM based?

ZA/UM describes itself as based in the UK and Europe, and gives a contact address at Unit 305, Brickfields, 37 Cremer St, Hoxton, London, E2 8HD.

What is ZA/UM's first game?

Disco Elysium, described by the studio as released on PC in 2019, with the definitive edition, The Final Cut, released on PC, Mac and consoles in March 2021.