The Lord of the Rings: Gollum was a massive failure at launch when the game was released back in May this year. The game was full of bugs and technical issues, along with poor animation and a pointless storyline that isn’t seen anymore in video games released these days.
A recent report has now surfaced on the internet, alleging that the game’s development cost only around $15.9 million. The report also makes several allegations against Gollum developer Daedalic, including a toxic work environment at the studio.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum Development Cost an Incredibly Low Amount
The German gaming publication GameTwo recently spoke to a bunch of developers who worked on The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, and it was revealed in the interview that the game only cost around $15.9 million or 15 million euros, as spotted by Knoebel. This is very small for a triple-A Lord of the Rings licensed game, which also clarifies why Gollum failed so badly.
GameTwo talked to 32 former and current employees of Daedalic Entertainment, and the major issue behind the game being so bad was the cash crunch. The development company Daedalic was struggling to raise funds from its previous owner, Bastei Lübee, who doubted the company could successfully pull off such a game.
Also Read: The Lord of the Rings: Gollum Review – A Waste of Your Precious Time (PS5)
A source stated that developers who have been in the industry for over 10, 15, and 20 years were working on the game, but it was still a failure because they were not given any funds. The source added that some funds came later on, but it was already too late, and the base game did not allow the patches to make it into something good-something it wasn’t in the first place.
However, this was just one of the issues that the development company was facing, as it was able to get experienced developers to work on the game. Gollum developers also alleged that the company tried to pay lower than the minimum wage, creating a toxic work environment, and that the founder usually raised his voice at employees.
Low Development Cost Wasn’t Only One Issue for Gollum
Another major issue behind the failure of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum was the lack of time, as the license was time-limited, and although the game was pushed from 2021 to 2022, it still wasn’t enough. The report also mentioned that several cuts were made to the game, which resulted in Gollum being a total loss.
It was also reported that the release date of May 25 was just seen as a damage limitation, which is seen in the game with almost similar NPCs and random cutscenes. Many scenes were also hidden from the players as developers weren’t able to animate them.
Also Read: Second Lord of the Rings Game by Daedalic Is No More – Gollum Killed Off the Developer Completely
In the 40-minute video, several developers also made serious allegations against Daedalic and Nacon. A source said,
I was suspended from the company and was only able to turn off the computer under supervision.
Another anonymous source stated,
There was an atmosphere of fear. I remember how the co-workers only spoke in whispers because they were scared that either Stefan or Carsten were able to hear them.
There were also accusations made that Daedalic Entertainment exploited new and young employees and interns with low pay but also gave them a hard time for their lack of experience in the video game industry. However, Daedalic said that the studio had a “friendly working atmosphere” in a statement to GameTwo.
Another major allegation that was highlighted was that the apology issued after the disastrous launch of the game wasn’t even written by Daedalic Entertainment. It was issued without any prior information to the developers. The apology was also reported as being AI-generated using ChatGPT. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is the lowest-rated game of the year, and this report confirms why.
What are your thoughts about the reports of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum development costing only $15.9 million? Have you played the game? Let us know in the comments!
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