This new game from Daedalic Entertainment is a large undertaking. The Lord of the Rings is an extremely popular franchise, and Gollum is an iconic character from author J.R.R. Tolkien’s works. But this ambitious narrative-based game may run into some trouble with the financial issues Daedalic has recently encountered.
Daedalic Entertainment is known for games Deponia and The Chronicles of Shakespeare. But with its recent title, A Year of Rain, underperforming, the company announced in early 2020 that it was having some financial issues. Owner Bastei Lübbe stated:
The previous business model is proving to be unsustainable . . . [We] will therefore now examine all options for a re-positioning of Daedalic Entertainment and its business model.”Â
Will this cause a delay in The Lord of the Rings: Gollum? Possibly. The game was first announced in March of 2019 for the PC and “relevant consoles” with a 2021 release date. It was later stated these consoles would be PS5 and Xbox Series X. They haven’t given a solid release date, but at this point, it is looking like late 2021, or perhaps 2022 if the company’s financial troubles aren’t resolved soon.
The Lord of the Rings franchise has had its share of excellent games. Recently was the acclaimed Shadow of Mordor and its sequel, Shadow of War. The game will take place between The Hobbit and the Fellowship of the Ring. Fans will know this is a very dark and twisted Gollum, devastated from Bilbo’s thieving of the ring and, at one point, captured by the forces of Mordor and tortured for information. Senior Producer Kai Fiebeg stated:
We don’t want to displease the folks who have only seen the movies. But in short, he doesn’t look like Andy Serkis. We started with the person he was and then evolved him. You can see that this was once something like a human being, before the Ring corrupted him. We have more storytelling possibilities than the movies ever had, and for us, it was very important to show a different set of emotions. We need somebody you could almost love, and on the other hand somebody you can really be afraid of. And at some points, trust me, you will fear him.”
It’s also been confirmed The Lord of the Rings: Gollum game will feature Nazgul, a choice system between Gollum and Smeagol instincts, stealth missions, and open levels.