A contemporary report on The Lord of the Rings: Gollum developer Daedalic Entertainment has made a quantity of disturbing allegations about the firm, together with reportedly imposing uncompensated time beyond regulation, allegedly attempting to pay workers beneath minimal wage, and a poisonous work atmosphere cultivated by an alleged abusive management.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is one of the largest online game flops of 2023. IGN’s evaluate, which returned a 4/10, stated it was “filled with dull stealth, bad platforming, and a pointless story, and does little to justify why anyone should take the time to play it”.
Following its disastrous launch, throughout which it was panned by critics and gamers and met with low gross sales, Daedalic Entertainment shut down its inside improvement arm and cancelled a follow-up The Lord of the Rings recreation, codenamed “It’s Magic”. This resulted in layoffs totalling 25 workers.
Now, a 40-minute video from German publication Game Two, titled Why Gollum Had to Fail, alleges vital failings at each Daedalic and writer Nacon, having spoken with 32 individuals who labored on the recreation. “There was an atmosphere of fear,” one nameless supply stated. IGN has contacted each Daedalic and Nacon for remark, though it is price noting denial statements have been issued to Game Two and proven in the video.
Game Two reveals the manufacturing price range for Gollum was round 15 million euros, or $15.9 million. This was an extremely low quantity for a supposed triple-A The Lord of the Rings online game, and factored into many of its failings in addition to the pay of workers.
The report additionally particulars a quantity of cuts and makeshift programs made to the recreation forward of its launch, and alleges writer Nacon used AI device ChatGPT to write down the apology assertion issued after Gollum’s failings turned public. According to Game Two, this apology was issued with out Daedalic’s data.
Just a few phrases from the ” The Lord of the Rings: Gollum™ ” staff pic.twitter.com/adPamy5EjO
— The Lord of the Rings: Gollum (@GollumGame) May 26, 2023
IGN sources again up the Game Two report, describing Daedalic’s low pay, crunch, and poisonous work tradition as an open secret inside the German online game business. Game Two alleges Daedalic exploited younger staff and interns not simply in phrases of low pay, however their lack of expertise inside the business, a declare additionally backed up by IGN’s sources. In the video, Daedalic denies at the moment using interns.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can attain Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.