If that’s the case, though, then Gollum is in serious need of some increased visibility. Gollum hasn’t shown its face in a new trailer since The Game Awards 2021, and even in that trailer, Daedalic Entertainment didn’t reveal any new information about the game. 2022 is moving fast, and there are a lot of games that Gollum will compete with if it still intends to release sometime this year. In order for Gollum to succeed, then Daedalic Entertainment and its newfound parent company Nacon need to start making some noise around this Lord of the Rings game.
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Gollum Faces Major Competition
2022 seems to be a convergence of major video game releases for the entire industry. Sony just published Horizon: Forbidden West, and it still plans on releasing God of War: Ragnarok later this year. Microsoft’s year will culminate in the much-anticipated release of Bethesda’s first new IP in years, Starfield, while Nintendo plans to support new titles ranging from Splatoon 3 to Xenoblade Chronicles 3 to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Projects unrelated to these console producers are already defining 2022 in video games as well, including FromSoftware’s acclaimed Elden Ring. 2022 is an extremely busy year for the game industry, and it’ll only get busier.
That means that Gollum has to confront serious competition for publicity in 2022. These games and others will eat up as much attention from fans as possible, leaving little room for Gollum to breathe if Daedalic doesn’t start fighting for attention now. Gollum may not be releasing until late 2022, but with so many major games releasing in the back half of the year, Daedalic can’t afford to wait until then to make Gollum’s name known. If it plans to release the game sometime in 2022, then it has to start raising the game’s visibility as soon as possible.
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Potential Updates on Gollum
It’s hard to say when fans will hear about Gollum next. Daedalic has released trailers and new information on its own time on occasion, rather than waiting for a major gaming event, so a new Gollum showcase could happen anytime. In terms of events, though, Gollum does have a good platform coming up. Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest will return this summer, and it would be the perfect place to reveal more Gollum details and drum up interest ahead of a fall release.
Of course, if a fall release is no longer realistic for Gollum, then Daedalic needs to tell fans that too. It’s okay if the game takes until 2023 to complete. A delay wouldn’t just help the game reach its internal goals; it could also allow Gollum to dodge a few major game releases, putting it under less pressure. For the time being, though, a 2022 window is still on the table, which means Daedalic needs to give Gollum some airtime. The final months before the game’s release will be crucial to the game’s success. Gollum may have the benefit of the Lord of the Rings IP when trying to attract players, but it still needs to impress LotR fans with interesting gameplay and story elements in order to sell.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum releases in late 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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