A new report has claimed that The Lord of the Rings: Gollum developer Daedalic Entertainment and publisher Nacon were responsible for the game’s failure through various acts ranging from paying staff well below minimum wage to creating a toxic working environment.
German publication Game Two posted a 40-minute video on YouTube titled “Why Gollum Had to Fail,” detailing how the companies’ greed undercut The Lord of the Rings: Gollum‘s possible success, creating an atmosphere of fear and worker abuse. Thirty-two people who worked on the game’s development spoke with the publication. Daedalic allegedly bullied workers into accepting unpaid overtime. Game Two acknowledged, however, that Daedalic and Nacon have refuted these statements.
Contributing to The Lord of the Rings: Gollum‘s poor critical and commercial reception, Game Two revealed that the developer spent only $15.9 million, which is remarkably low for a Triple-A video game. Daedalic made cuts to the game while adding makeshift systems before launch. Daedalic also issued an apology on X (formerly Twitter) after the game’s failings became public. As a result of the game’s failure, Daedalic shut down its internal development department and laid off twenty-five members of its staff. They also canceled the purported sequel to The Lord of the Rings game.
Why The Lord of the Rings: Gollum Failed
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum was rejected by the majority of critics and fans. CBR’s Josh Cotts believed the game possessed many flaws, “Despite Gollum being backed by a noteworthy concept, the final product failed in a multitude of ways. Technical glitches, shoddy animation, poor voice acting, dated graphics, awkward controls, and overall uninspired writing all plague the Lord of the Rings adventure, and not even someone as shifty as Gollum could escape those flaws,” he wrote.
Given the meager production budget, Daedalic reportedly committed to The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, its initial price of $60 was largely unmerited, “Gollum’s original $60 price tag not only raised expectations but standards as well. Had its price been significantly lower, some of its major pitfalls might have been forgiven, or at the very least, overlooked,” Cotts noted.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Source: YouTube and X
