The The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum game situation is becoming something much more than a very bad release for 2023. It is now being claimed in a YouTube video by two anonymous sources who spoke with the German publication Game Two that the apology statement made by developer Daedalic Entertainment back in May was not written or spoken by anyone at the studio. In fact, the sources claim that the apology was actually written by the AI-powered language model ChatGPT. Video Game Chronicles added to this that the sources also claim that the publisher of the title, Nacon, used the software to make the apology and did not notify the studio ahead of time.
It also didn’t help that keen-eyed fans instantly noticed some issues when the apology was made, some of which may not have been noticeable at first glance. One of the biggest parts is the name itself, which is referred to as The Lord Of The Ring: Gollum, instead of it’s actual name, The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum. Now this simple typo isn’t much to take in, but when promoting a game or project, the studio/publisher generally proofreads these things before sending it out to the public for consumption. In the same video, Game Two spoke to Senior Developer Paul Schulze who mentioned that the title’s budget was around £13 million, or $15 million.
For a AAA title being developed in today’s market, that budget is fairly modest to say the least. Schulze echoed this by saying that despite having a great team to work with, the game suffered greatly because they “can’t do magic because they weren’t given the funds.” If that wasn’t bad enough, the Game Two video also claims to have “spoken with 32 people” all of whom allege that their workspace was very much not ideal. They allege that the leadership of the studio was “enforcing uncompensated overtime, trying to pay staff below minimum wage, and a toxic work environment cultivated by an alleged abusive leadership.”
IGN states that they back up the allegations as their own sources have made the same claims that were stated in the video. They also allege that this is essentially is a “toxic work culture as an open secret within the German video game industry.” The sources also allege that Daedalic exploited young interns and employees with not just low pay, but a lack of experience as well. While the studio has not responded to IGN’s sources, they have vehemently denied the Game Two allegations.
The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum launched on May 25 and was criticized for it’s glaring bugs, unplayable sections, and extremely dated looking visuals. It quickly became the lowest rated title of 2023, less than a day after it launched no less. A few months later, Daedalic Entertainment announced that they were exiting game development and would remain a publishing entity only.