Project [C4]
Project [C4]
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ZA/UM Studio unveils Project [C4] as its upcoming espionage RPG

  • Posted byby Dean Takahashi
  • Updated
  • 1 min

ZA/UM Studio today introduced its next game, codenamed Project [C4], a new mind-warping espionage RPG that blends player introspection, deep character-driven dialogue, and high-stakes encounters steered by dice rolls. 

The game is coming from the Tallinn, Estonia-based company that made Disco Elysium, though the creators of that firm went in two different directions after the game was published.

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 center 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 among other means. Players must steel themselves with whatever comfort they can in order to survive the violent canvas of the real.

Founded in 2015, ZA/UM is an independent game studio best known for its award-winning RPG Disco Elysium. The team consists of over 90 game developers who happen to double as psychological moles. With studios in London, Porto, and Tallinn, ZA/UM loves to push the boundaries of the game medium and bring forth the next genre-defining RPG.

Written by

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.