The developer studio which created the new Lord of the Rings: Gollum video game is set to close after a rather disastrous launch. Daedalic Entertainment, the maker behind the poorly-reviewed action-adventure game, is shutting its internal development department, it has emerged.
As reported by Games Wirtschaft, Daedalic Entertainment will now be shifting its focus to game publishing, sales, and marketing instead, after its latest release went down like lead balloon with many fans. In a statement issued to Games Wirtschaft, the company said the decision was a "difficult turning point".
Daedalic Entertainment is also reportedly laying people off, with 25 individuals set to be affected. Speaking to Games Wirtschaft, the video game publisher said: "We value each and every member of our team, and it is important to us that the transition goes as smoothly as possible.
"Therefore, we will support our former employees in finding new opportunities within our network." The studio is also reportedly putting the development of another Lord of the Rings game it was working on internally on hold.
After its release in May, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum was swiftly met with heavy criticism from players and reviewers - largely due to performance issues, muddy graphics, and middle-of-the-road gameplay. On Steam, the game has received a score of five out of 10, while on IGN, it has been given a four out of ten.
It wasn't long before the developer issued an apology to fans following the "underwhelming" response. In a post on Twitter in May, the studio said: "At Daedalic, we understand that a game’s success relies on the enjoyment and satisfaction of its players.
"We genuinely value your feedback and have been actively listening to your voices, reading your comments, and analysing the constructive criticism and suggestions have you provided. Our development team has been working diligently to address the bugs and technical issues many of you experienced.
"We are committed to providing you with patches that will allow you to enjoy the game to its fullest potential." On Twitter, Rod_johnston put: "I know this is a shock, but Lord of the Rings: Gollum is not a good game." DiaLancea added: "Gollum might have been bad, but I feel bad for the studio."
Freethewzrd said: "Lord of the Rings: Gollum was so bad they shutting down the game development division of the studio." CyberTribal86 typed: "This is that Lord of the Rings Gollum game that’s been getting universally laughed at for about a month now. So bad. So so bad."
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But not everyone was in agreement. Calebgamman tweeted: "The gollum game looks incredible. maybe the first good piece of lord of the rings media." CritSuccessNerd wrote: "I don't know why i am just so fascinated by the lord of the rings gollum game. It's definitely not cause it looks good and i'm not even a fan really of lord of the rings. Just something about it that draws me in. my precious."
A description of the game on Steam reads: "Play as Gollum on his quest to retrieve his Precious. You will need to climb the mountains of Mordor, sneak around Mirkwood and make difficult choices. Who will gain the upper hand: the cunning Gollum or the innocent Smeagol?"
Daedalic Entertainment's full statement to Games Wirtschaft reads: "Daedalic Entertainment has made the decision to close its development department, with full focus now on our publishing business. Eight promising releases will be launching in this financial year alone.
"Even though The Lord of the Rings: Gollum did not live up to the expectations we had for the game, we are very grateful for the opportunity and the learning experience it brought us.
"Currently, we are working on another patch for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. A follow-up project in The Lord of the Rings universe that has already been started will be discontinued.
"The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, as the body responsible for the federal funding, was informed of this some time ago. We value each and every member of our team very much and it is important to us that the transition goes as well as possible.
"We will therefore support our former employees in finding new opportunities within our network. A difficult break, but also a new beginning in the already long history of Daedalic Entertainment."
