Gollum Developer is Shutting Down Internal Development, New LotR Game Cancelled

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum bears the ignominy of being one of the biggest and most high-profile flops in gaming in recent memory, and shortly after its disastrous launch, developer Daedalic Entertainment has announced a significant shift in plans in response.

As reported by Games Wirtschaft, Daedalic Entertainment has announced that it’s shutting down its entire internal development pipeline. The studio will no longer make its own games going forward, and is instead pivoting to focusing exclusively on publishing titles developed by external partners. That, unfortunately, means the internal development staff at Daedalic – at least 25 employees – is being laid off.

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

As reported previously, Daedalic Entertainment was working on another Lord of the Rings game, development on which started in 2022. That project has also now been shut down as part of the studio’s restructuring.

Daedalic Entertainment was acquired by Nacon for a sum of €53 million in February last year.