It received positive reviews,[12][13][failed verification] with literary theorist Johanna Ross highlighting it as one of the few books to successfully bridge science fiction and "literature proper".
[14] The literary scientist Jaak Tomberg emphasized the great attention to detail in his review: "Through that novel we bear witness to (1) a style which seems to be in its actually realistic and simply reflective way to be attentive towards the world to an almost paranoid degree, and (2) to a made-up world, which in its relentless interconnectedness is far more systemic than the reality we recognize as 'our own' and also remarkably more systemic than most of the fictional ones, which may by their similar way of building reservedly be called 'fantastic'.
[17][18][19][20] Having played tabletop roleplaying games for much of his life, Kurvitz uses worldbuilding techniques derived from Dungeons & Dragons, though opting for a pseudo-modernist fantasy world instead of a pseudo-medieval one.
"Mass editing" was employed as a tool in the finishing stage of the book; people of varying backgrounds assessed the readability and realism of the work, pointing out confusing passages and suggesting amendments.
[24][25][26] Kurvitz claims to have developed the Elysium world since he was fifteen or sixteen, originally inspired by "a bootleg Finnish Middle Earth roleplay system".
"[2] A communist, Kurvitz has a green-gold bust of Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin on his writing desk, which he claimed formerly belonged to Estonian Soviet writer Juhan Smuul.
Dialectics and other leftist historical theories were essential for Elysium's development, forming the basis for critical elements of the world's history, such as the innocentic system.
[3] In November 2013, Kaur Kender, Kurvitz's longtime friend and collaborator on A Sacred and Terrible Air, was announced as editor-in-chief of the Estonian cultural magazine Sirp.
"[30] In the Disco Elysium official artbook, Kurvitz described the situation as "a suicidal manoeuvre that constituted the pathetic crescendo of our national careers, an unremovable stain, an unforgivable sin.
[32] A ZA/UM spokesperson stated to Eurogamer that "Like any video game, the development of Disco Elysium was and still is a collective effort, with every team member's contribution essential and valued as part of a greater whole.
[36] A later investigation by People Make Games corroborated some of the studio's accusations, with Kurvitz in particular singled out by some other employees, who assumed lead roles subsequent to his ousting, for poor management and creating a hostile work environment, especially during Disco Elysium's long period of crunch.
[37] Legal proceedings in the matter were started by Kaur Kender, the executive producer of Disco Elysium and Kurvitz's longtime friend and collaborator.
[40] However, on 17 March 2023, Kurvitz and another former ZA/UM creative, Sander Taal (the real legal name of Rostov, according to ZA/UM[41]), responded to this statement by clarifying that the announcement was "wrong and misleading in several respects" and "[sought] to unfairly paint [them] - the remaining minority shareholders in ZA/UM - as mere disgruntled employees."
Kurvitz and Taal also stated that their lawsuit regarding employment claims against the studio was dismissed "as part of a larger campaign against [them]" and that they plan to "pursue legal options accordingly."