Daedalic Entertainment has announced a new licensing partnership with Middle-earth Enterprises, granting it rights to develop and publish a brand new Lord of the Rings game, The Lord of the Rings – Gollum.
The new, narrative-driven “action adventure” game – which is powered by Unreal Engine and is expected to come to PC and “all relevant console platforms” sometime in 2021 – “will remain true to the vision laid out in J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings” and “explore new events and details related to Gollum’s journey”. According to Daedalic’s press release, The Lord of the Rings – Gollum is the first game “born out of the new fellowship”, and suggests there is “scope for more new experiences in the future”, too.
“We are extremely pleased to announce our partnership with multi-award-winning Daedalic Entertainment, to build an innovative, lore-centric game for discerning fans of The Lord of the Rings,” said Fredrica Drotos, brand officer for Middle-earth Enterprises. “With their focus on characters and story, enhanced by rich and evocative artwork, Daedalic is committed to ‘building games for readers who become gamers’. We eagerly anticipate the release of Daedalic’s narrative-driven adventure gameplay, which is uniquely matched to the complex, deeply-nuanced world of Middle-earth, created by J.R.R. Tolkien.”
“The Lord of the Rings is one of the most epic and renowned stories of all time – it’s an honour for us to have the opportunity to work on our own contribution to this universe,” added Carsten Fichtelmann, CEO and Co-Founder of Daedalic Entertainment. “In Gollum, players will assume the role of one of the most iconic characters in Middle-earth. We tell Gollum’s story from a perspective never seen before, in any storytelling medium, all the while staying true to the legendary books of J.R.R. Tolkien.
“At a time when the games industry is undergoing structural changes and seeing new business models evolve, we are excited to realize a huge new production based on a story that has stayed fresh and relevant for more than 60 years. Other currently planned media productions based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s work are testament to that.”
