Daedalic Entertainment, the studio behind the long-delayed and poorly-reviewed The Lord of the Rings: Gollum that came out yesterday, appears to be working on another Lord of the Rings game — one that potentially features the franchise’s iconic wizards.
According to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action of Germany website, as translated by IGN, Daedalic is working on another 3D action adventure game set within the Lord of the Rings universe that will “transport the player into a lush world full of mythical creatures and magic.” The project is codenamed “It’s Magic.”
German-speaking magazine Games Wirtschaft pointed out that Daedalic Entertainment received roughly €2 million in funding from the German government after beginning Gollum, meaning this funding most likely went to It’s Magic. The funding is for a project taking place between June 1 2022 and August 2024.
“It tells a story from the perspective of a character which hasn’t been told before,” the game’s description reads. “The player discovers completely new regions and influences the world bound by their role and abilities. [The player] tries, in his way, to influence the goings-on and change the fate of the world.”
This description of the game, along with its codename, might hint that the game focuses on one of the wizards from Lord of the Rings. It’s currently set for release in the second half of 2024.
Assuming this project, Daedalic Entertainment will have a lot of work to do to regain trust after the launch of Lord of the Rings: Gollum, which has been roundly panned by critics. We gave Gollum a 4 in our review, criticizing its plot and technical issues and saying “it’s not fun to play, and not something to recommend to any but the most curious and dedicated Lord of the Rings fan.”
Daedalic Entertainment has since apologized for Gollum’s launch and has promised to release patches in the near future.
Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN who loves all things indie and Nintendo. Outside of IGN, they’ve contributed to sites like Polygon and Rock Paper Shotgun. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.