The Lord of the Rings: Gollum Releases On The Same Day As Final Fantasy 16

A new release date for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum has been revealed. As per the announcement by 3goo Co., Ltd in the latest YouTube trailer, the upcoming entry in The Lord of the Rings IP will release on June 22nd, 2023. It is quite a shock because the date coincides with the arrival of the goliath AAA entry, Final Fantasy 16. Moreover, the month is jam-packed with many prominent game releases, which could easily overshadow LOTR: Gollum.

The new trailer showcases various cinematic moments from the gameplay and major characters from the Middle-Earth universe, which will make an appearance in the game. The protagonist Gollum is seen fighting with enemies and escaping to safety in entirely new footage. The trailer leaves us wanting more as the final image emerges. The final part of the video states the developers and publishers on the screen alongside the release date.

A previously untold story about an anti-hero with two personalities. The player controls two main characters in this title: the good Sméagol and the cunning Gollum. The player’s choices affect how the game unfolds. It is up to you to decide whether Gollum’s dark side will take over or whether there is a spark of reason left in Sméagol,” reads the trailer description.

Besides competing with the highly awaited Final Fantasy 16, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum anchors between the anticipated releases of Diablo 4 and Street Fighter 6, which further dilutes the chances of the game succeeding. This is one of those rare times where an entry coming out early has caused frustration in the community, as the enticing venture into The Lord of the Rings universe could die right after coming out.

The stealth action-adventure title originally announced in 2019 by Daedalic Entertainment has notably seen a slew of major delays and internal struggles during its development and another one appears to be on the horizon, according to fans. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum was initially planned for a 2021 release. But that prospect was pushed forward to a September 2022 release, only to meet a similar fate.

The title was silently pushed toward a 2023 release, and no date had been announced until today. The last update before today’s development was mentioned in the update in Nacon’s financial report, which suggested a release “in the first half of FY 2023-24.” Unless a delay happens, we can expect the title to finally stock digital and physical shelves of gamers on June 22nd this year, alongside Final Fantasy 16. 

It is worth noting that The Lord of the Rings IP has a total of 5 games in development, as revealed in the recent financial report. These titles are reported to arrive before the financial year 2023/2024 ends unless any of them is postponed. Four of these projects have been officially announced so far, and the fifth project remains a mystery.

Besides The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, other known titles include The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth, and an unnamed project brewing in collab between Private Division and Weta Workshop is also in development without many known details.

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