Some points in this story still feel confusing, but People Make Games’ investigation shades more light on how Kompus became the main owner of the Disco Elysium developer: The situation was detailed in a lawsuit filed by Kaur Kender, who eventually withdrew his claims and left ZA/UM. Kompus was first accused of fraudulently taking over the studio last year. How did Ilmar Kompus become the largest shareholder of ZA/UM? Some parties involved in the drama see her as somewhat of an eminence grise running money transactions for Haavel behind the scenes. Anu Reiman - Haavel’s life partner who owns two companies, Yessirnosir Ltd and Studio 38.He is currently claimed to be just a regular ZA/UM employee who also served as an executive producer for Disco Elysium.

Tõnis Haavel (aka Denis Havel) - Kompus’ business partner who used to have a 50% stake in Koha Capital (“Ko” stands for Kompus and “Ha” for Haavel) before being convicted in the Baku investment fraud in 2014.He is currently the studio’s majority shareholder and the man whom Kurvitz and Rostov accuse of illegally taking over the company. Ilmar Kompus - investor and the head of VC firm Koha Capital who bought Kender’s 17% stake after Fortress Occident turned into ZA/UM.In 2021, he sold his stake for €4.5 million. Margus Linnamäe - famous Estonian businessman who had a 83% stake in Fortress Occident (and after its rebranding to ZA/UM) through his investment firm MM Grupp.Kender became one of ZA/UM’s first investors, originally owning a 17% stake in the studio. He funded and helped publish Kurvitz’s novel Sacred and Terrible Air and then pushed for making a video game adaptation of the Elysium world. Kaur Kender - Estonian writer and businessman who was accused (and eventually acquitted) of producing child pornography with his controversial book Untitled 12.

However, some other developers claim that she didn’t actually do that much writing, let alone her role as a leader. She eventually became romantically invovled with Kurvitz and was also credited as the lead writer on Disco Elysium – The Final Cut.

Helen Hindpere - writer who joined the ZA/UM Cultural Association in 2009 when she was just 14 years old.

Best known as the art director of Disco Elysium, he was also fired from the ZA/UM studio last year.

Aleksander Rostov (aka Sander Taal) - artist, Kurvitz’s comrade-in-arms, and another original member of the ZA/UM Cultural Association.

In this story, Kurvitz believes that he was illegally fired last year and deprived of what he calls his life’s work. He was the founding member of the ZA/UM Cultural Association (a currently dismissed group of Estonian writers and artists), some of whose key members would later join game development studio ZA/UM (originally Fortress Occident) to create Disco Elysium.

Robert Kurvitz - the original creator of the Elysium world and the game’s lead designer and writer.

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