LotR: Gollum devs reveal why the game failed

Olivia Richman Published 08/10/2023

Lord of the Rings: Gollum disappointed so many gamers that Daedalic Entertainment issued an apology soon after. Now, former employees are claiming the apology was written by ChatGPT.

Despite initial curiosity from fantasy fans, Lord of the Rings: Gollum became known as one of the worst big releases of the year thanks to technical issues and boring gameplay. The paid DLC containing emotes and other cosmetics that should have already been in the game was another source of anger for the gaming community at large.

Just a day after the release, Daedalic came out with an apology on Twitter. In the apology, Daedalic developers promised transparent communication and upcoming patches to improve the game. Unfortunately, not much has been done.

While the dust has settled and gamers have moved on to other games like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Starfield, Daedalic staff have reminded gamers of the disappointment they felt upon Gollum’s release with some interesting insight into the aforementioned apology. Apparently, it was written by AI.

Did ChatGPT write the LotR: Gollum apology?

In an interview with GameTwo, a German gaming publisher, previous Daedalic Entertainment employees opened up about everything that went wrong with Gollum.

A translation of the report revealed that Daedalic wasn’t even aware of the apology. Publisher Nacon was in charge of its release and the tweet went out before Daedalic had a chance to look at it.

Apparently, employees found out too late that the apology had gone out — and that it was written by ChatGPT, meaning it was created by AI and not a genuine apology to gamers.

While this was definitely a wild revelation, the interview also went over all the other things that led to Lord of the Rings: Gollum failing. This includes a budget of only $15 million, well below what most AAA games cost to make. Unfortunately, the lack of funds got in the way of the team doing what they had hoped despite their talent and experience.

The game being as bad as it was seems to have spelled the end for Daedalic Entertainment. Since Gollum, Daedalic hasn’t made any other games.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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