The Lord of the Rings: Gollum studio Daedalic reportedly lays off 25 staff, exits game development

Daedalic Entertainment, the company behind The Lord of the Rings: Gollum this year, is said to be exiting game development and laying off about 25 employees as part of the move. Additionally, a second Lord of the Rings game in development at the studio is said to have been cancelled.

Daedalic’s The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, announced in 2019 for a 2021 release, finally arrived last month, after many setbacks and delays. However, its reception was less than positive, with Eurogamer’s Christian Donlan calling it a “bona fide mess” in his 1 out of 5 rating. It came as a surprise when reports surfaced shortly after that Daedalich was currently working on a second Lord of the Rings game. .

according to German site Games WirtschaftHowever, that game – which has reportedly been in the works since mid-2022 – no longer exists, with development now being canceled as part of Daedalic’s sudden decision to step away from development and into publishing only after Gollum’s poor reception.

In a statement provided to the site (according to Google Translate, but I reached out to Daedalic to confirm the news and the official translation), Daedalic said that 25 employees of a team of more than 90 will lose their jobs as a result of the company’s shift in focus.

“We value every member of our team and it’s important to us that the transition goes as smoothly as possible,” said a company spokesperson. “Therefore, we will support our former employees in finding new opportunities within our network.”

Games Wirtschaft notes that Surviving Deponia, a new entry in the Deponia series for Daedalic developed by outside studio AtomicTorch, will not be affected by today’s news.

Daedelic, best known for its point-and-click adventure series it has launched since its founding in 2007, has struggled to find success in recent years. Its adaptation of Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth and strategy game A Year of Rain failed to find much of an audience, and the company closed its Dusseldorf and Munich studios in 2021.