Daedalic Entertainment, the developer of the recently released The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, has reportedly decided to stop making games and focus on publishing instead. According to various sources, the company has laid off around 25 employees and canceled a second Lord of the Rings game in development.
A Disappointing Reception
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is an action-adventure game that lets players control the titular character in a series of stealth-based missions set in Middle-earth. The game was announced in 2019 and was expected to launch in 2021, but it faced several delays and setbacks before finally releasing in May 2023.
However, the game received mostly negative reviews from critics and players alike, who criticized its technical issues, poor gameplay, and lack of polish. The game currently has a Metacritic score of 39 out of 100 for the PlayStation 5 version and a 2.4 out of 10 user score. Many players also mocked the game online, pointing out its glitches, bugs, and high price tag.
Daedalic Entertainment issued an apology on Twitter shortly after the game’s launch, saying that they “Deeply Apologize” that the game did not meet the expectations of themselves or their community. They also promised to work on improving the game with patches and updates.
A Change of Direction
However, it seems that the poor reception of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum has had a significant impact on Daedalic Entertainment’s future plans. According to the German website Games Wirtschaft, the company has decided to abandon game development and focus on its publishing business.
As a result, around 25 employees from a team of more than 90 have been laid off, and a second Lord of the Rings game in development at the studio has been canceled. The second game was reportedly in the works since mid-2022 and was based on another character from J.R.R. Tolkien’s universe.
Daedalic Entertainment gives up internal game development at the Hamburg location and wants to focus on publishing:-
#Eilmeldung Daedalic Entertainment gibt die interne Spiele-Entwicklung am Standort Hamburg auf und will sich aufs Publishing fokussieren. Die Arbeiten am Gollum-Nachfolger werden eingestellt.#thelordoftherings #derherrderringe #hamburghttps://t.co/nygOAQpMyL
— GamesWirtschaft (@gameswirtschaft) June 30, 2023
Daedalic Entertainment confirmed the news in a statement to Games Wirtschaft, saying that they value every team member and will support their former employees in finding new opportunities within their network.
The company also said they would continue publishing games from external developers, such as Surviving Deponia, a new entry in their popular Deponia series.
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A History Filled With Challenges
Daedalic Entertainment was founded in 2007 and is best known for its point-and-click adventure games, such as The Whispered World, Edna & Harvey, and The Dark Eye. The company also ventured into other genres, such as strategy games (A Year of Rain) and narrative games (The Pillars of the Earth).
However, the company has struggled to succeed in recent years, as many games failed to find a large audience or critical acclaim. The company also closed its Düsseldorf and Munich studios in 2021.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum was a significant opportunity for Daedalic Entertainment to reach a broader market and showcase its capabilities as a developer. The company had secured the rights to make games based on Tolkien’s works from Middle-earth Enterprises, which owns the intellectual property.
However, the game turned out to be a disappointment for both fans and critics and now it seems that it has also marked the end of Daedalic Entertainment’s game development ambitions.