Daedalic Entertainment Ending Internal Development, Work on New Lord of the Rings Game Halted

Daedalic Entertainment, the studio behind the long-delayed and poorly-reviewed The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, is shutting down its internal development arm.

In a new article by Games Wirtschaft, the outlet reported that Daedalic Entertainment will now focus on game publishing, sales, and marketing. The studio sent out a statement to Games Wirtschaft, stating that it was a “difficult turning point” for the company.

Daedalic Entertainment also told the studio that it is laying off people, with 25 individuals impacted by the layoffs. “We value each and every member of our team, and it is important to us that the transition goes as smoothly as possible,” a Daedalic spokesperson told Games Wirtschaft. “Therefore, we will support our former employees in finding new opportunities within our network.”

Additionally, the German-based game studio announced that it had halted the development of another Lord of the Rings game it was working on internally. The game has been in development since 2022 and was under the codename “It’s Magic,” with it supposedly launching next year.

Despite the studio no longer working on new games internally, it is still committed to improving The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, with another patch currently being worked on, according to Games Wirtschaft. A Nintendo Switch version is also in development and is aiming to release later this year.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum was released last month and was met with criticism for its performance issues, graphics, and gameplay. Shortly after its launch, the developer apologized and pledged to improve the quality of the game.

In our review of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, which we gave a 4 out of 10, we said the game ” is filled with dull stealth, bad platforming, and a pointless story, and does little to justify why anyone should take the time to play it.”

Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.