Daedalic Entertainment and NACON have announced that The Lord of the Rings: Gollum has been delayed by a few months, as it needs more polish. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is an upcoming action-adventure game starring Gollum, showing the events of his life after losing the One Ring to Bilbo Baggins, with his adventures in Mordor and Mirkwood, being fleshed out for the first time. Many exciting trailers have already detailed the world players will be immersed in when The Lord of the Rings: Gollum releases.
There have been many video games set in Middle-earth, with most staring powerful heroes and villains as they battled for the fate of the world. In a surprising turn of events, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum stars the wretched Gollum, who must hide from his foes and use his incredible agility and stealth to survive in Middle-earth. Gollum is also competing with the darker side of his personality, with a large portion of the story of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum based around choosing sides in his inner conflict.
The launch of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S was originally set to happen on September 1, 2022. However, it appears the game will no longer be hitting that release date. Daedalic Entertainment and Nacon have announced that The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will be delayed by several months, as the game is in need of extra polish. There is currently no amended release window for the game, but fans will be informed when a concrete date is set. The announcement was made on the official The Lord of the Rings: Gollum Twitter page.
The people who have seen The Lord of the Rings: Gollum in action won't be surprised by this delay. The most recent preview for the game lacked gameplay footage and the visuals have been notably rough. The polish must be warranted if the game is being delayed so close to release, though the lack of a new release window is likely worrying for fans. The question now is whether The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will be a holiday season game, or whether it will be pushed back to 2023. If delayed until next year, it is possible The Lord of the Rings: Gollum could become available in the early months following the holiday season, or possibly an early summer title for the warmer months of 2023.
The gaming industry is now in a post-Cyberpunk 2077 world, where the damage to a company's reputation from shipping a poorly-made game is clear. If the developers of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum need more time to get the game into the best shape it can possibly be and avoid crunch, then they should take it. The unexplored stories of Gollum's life can wait until the game is ready to be released to the public. Hopefully, more information regarding the adjusted release timeframe for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will become available soon, giving fans a new date to look forward to.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is currently in development for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.