The Lord of the Rings: Gollum has been delayed 'by a few months'

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It's still a little raw (and wriggling).

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
(Image credit: Daedalic Entertainment)

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, Daedalic's stealth platformer centred around the series' most conflicted character, has been delayed "by a few months". Originally slated to launch on the 1st of September, today Daedalic announced that the game's launch has been pushed back, although the studio didn't specify a new release date.

"Over the last few years, our team has been working hard to bring you a remarkable story in a breathtaking world, filled with magic and wonder," reads a statement posted on the game's official Twitter account. "That said, in order to deliver the best possible experience, we have decided to push [sic] the release of The Lord of the Rings Gollum by a few months." The statement added that a new release date would be announced "in the near future."

In a separate press release, Daedalic and NACON specified was that the game had been delayed "for polishing". While we can't be certain, it's likely also a response to mixed previews of the game when it was properly shown off for the first time a couple of months ago. "The Lord of the Rings Gollum seems to share Gollum's conflicted personality," wrote Ted in PC Gamer’s own preview from May. "After years of just existing as a name and pre-rendered concept footage, Gollum's first look was divided between visions of an uninspired stealth-action game and an intriguing throwback platformer"

Frankly, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum always seemed like a hard sell. While Gollum is undoubtedly one of the more interesting side-characters in both the films and the books, that's more to do with his internal conflict than his external capability. Building an entire game around him, therefore, would be challenging to say the least. But perhaps those extra few months will bring the stealth in line with the platforming, and produce an experience that surprises us all.

Rick Lane
Contributor

Rick has been fascinated by PC gaming since he was seven years old, when he used to sneak into his dad's home office for covert sessions of Doom. He grew up on a diet of similarly unsuitable games, with favourites including Quake, Thief, Half-Life and Deus Ex. Between 2013 and 2022, Rick was games editor of Custom PC magazine and associated website bit-tech.net. But he's always kept one foot in freelance games journalism, writing for publications like Edge, Eurogamer, the Guardian and, naturally, PC Gamer. While he'll play anything that can be controlled with a keyboard and mouse, he has a particular passion for first-person shooters and immersive sims.