Daedalic Ends Their Struggle with 'The Lord of the Rings: Gollum'

Daedalic, the studio responsible for the troubled "Lord of the Rings: Gollum," seems to be calling it a day on their saga. Last week's substantial "major update" hinted at an end to this troubled journey for the studio, closing with a note that suggests the game's development might finally be concluding.

From its conception, "Gollum" seemed to be a problematic venture. Many gaming enthusiasts, quite rightfully, questioned the need for a game built around Tolkien's eerie villain. An originally intended 2021 release got delayed to 2022 and later 2023, throwing light on serious development issues. Against expectations of this game surprising everyone by being an unexpected hit despite its issues, the game unfortunately crashed. Metacritic rated it a mere 39, while Steam users labeled it with a "mostly negative" rating.

Daedalic had to hastily express regret for the game's state, stating that it was disappointing that the game missed not just their expectations but also those of their loyal community. They said they were planning on releasing updates to ensure the game could be enjoyed to its maximum potential. This evoked the question- what really is the maximum potential of Gollum?

The 2.2 update today has a certain finality to it for the troubled game. A range of bug fixes and performance enhancements are included, but it ends with a message from the developers that seems a lot like a farewell. They expressed their gratitude to their players for their patience and hoped that players would enjoy "The Lord of the Rings: Gollum."

The reactions to the patch news on Steam were mostly positive, with a few encouraging Daedalic to carry on. However, their recent announcement of shutting down their internal development department post-Gollum's failure and focusing on their publishing business could mean curtains for Gollum. I have contacted Daedalic for confirmation and will update upon receiving a response.