The Lord of the Rings: Gollum developer Daedalic Entertainment will no longer develop video games in-house. The update on the studio’s ambitions arrives in a post from Games Wirtschaft that explains the company will now strictly stick to publishing moving forward. The studio also issued a statement, saying (placing trust in Google Translate) that the moment marks a “difficult turning point” and “a new beginning in the long history of Daedalic Entertainment.” The company confirms that 25 of the more than 90 staff it employs are being let go as part of the transition.
“We value each and every member of our team and it is important to us that the transition goes as smoothly as possible,” company management said. “Therefore, we will support our former employees in finding new opportunities within our network.”
The demise of internal game development at Daedalic Entertainment is also affecting another untitled The Lord of the Rings game that the studio had been working on since mid-2022. Work on that project is stopping, with no word on whether it will live on in some other form in the future.
It’s sad but not a surprise to see a major shakeup at Daedalic following the downright depressing launch of Gollum in May. The game was heavily criticized not only for its portrayal of the iconic J.R.R. Tolkien title character but also its boundless glitches, platforming gameplay, and art style. The Escapist’s Will Cruz remarked that the project’s gameplay offered “no sense of fulfillment or reward,” and he went as far as to caution even die-hard Lord of the Rings fans to “avoid this game like the plague.” Needless to say, Gollum marked perhaps the lowest point in Daedalic history.
The developer apologized for the quality of Gollum shortly after its launch, issuing a statement that acknowledged the “bugs and technical issues” that fans were met with. At the time, Daedalic said it was “committed” to issuing fixes for Gollum and “deeply regret(s) that the game did not meet the expectations we set for ourselves or for our dedicated community.”
“Once again, we deeply apologize for any inconvenience caused, and we appreciate your understanding during this time,” the statement read. “We will continue to keep you updated on our progress and provide transparent communication regarding the upcoming patches and improvements. Your passion and dedication as players have been the driving force behind our determination to make things right.”
It appears patches for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will continue to roll out as internal development at Daedalic winds down.