The Lord of the Rings: Gollum won’t be released until April, at the earliest. In its latest earnings report, co-publisher Nacon confirmed that the long-awaited action-adventure title is eyeing a launch in the first half of fiscal year 2023-2024. This translates to a release window starting in April, extending to September 2023. Originally slated for release in 2021, this marks the game’s third delay, with developer Daedalic Entertainment previously claiming to have simply pushed back the launch. of “a few months.” This new development moves the timeline even further to 2023.

Daedalic’s most recent update was from September last year – a delay to ensure that The Lord of the Rings: Gollum was in the best technical state when it was released. Although not explicitly mentioned, part of this redesign was likely related to the disreputable fan response they received for the gameplay trailer – key points of criticism being the outdated graphics and textures. . As for the gameplay itself, players will be immersed in ancient Middle-earth, in a tightly woven story that explores Gollum’s journey after losing the One Ring to Bilbo Baggins. Drawing heavily on original material by author JRR Tolkien, the game essentially serves as a prequel to Peter Jackson’s The Fellowship of the Ring.

Much of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum’s gameplay revolves around stealth, which is a no-brainer since the titular character isn’t exactly the strongest in terms of physique. That said, Gollum is extremely agile, allowing him to crawl and climb surfaces with ease and without attracting too much attention. In keeping with his split personality, his two sides, Gollum and Sméagol, become a mechanic during moments of conflict, where players must decide whether to take the coy approach or the sneakily evil route. “One mind, two egos – you decide!” reads the description on Steam. At the time, the footage also featured a swimming mechanic with an oxygen meter. However, it was placed in a first-person perspective, raising the question of whether one could switch camera perspectives at will. All other gameplay footage was present from a third-person perspective.

Beyond Lord of the Rings: Gollum, other Middle-earth franchise video games are in the works. The former is an unnamed new title from Private Division and Weta Workshop – the latter is known for providing visual effects and props in the LoTR and Hobbit films. More details about the same will be revealed in time. Then there’s The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, a survival crafting and base-building title, in which players take control of a company of Dwarves to recover the lost loot of their homeland of Moria. He plans to release this year.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will be available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X and Nintendo Switch.