The upcoming title The Lord of the Rings: Gollum has been met with some unfortunate setbacks. Unfortunately, fans wont be able to take control of Gollum in Middle-earth until next year.

Undoubtedly one of the most recognizable characters from author J.R.R. Tolkien's enduring fantasy series, Gollum was originally known as Smeagol. Corrupted by the One Ring, the Hobbit's body and mind became twisted by its power, extending his life far beyond natural limits until the events depicted in The Lord of the Rings films. The first to feature the oft-conflicted creature as the main character (which hopefully gives Gollum some deserved depth), The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is the first major LOTR video game since 2017's Middle-earth: Shadow of War.

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Developer Daedalic Entertainment is announcing a "fellowship" between itself and NACON, which has been officially brought on as co-publisher of the game. NACON is primarily known for titles such as Rugby 20, Tennis World Tour 2, and Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood.  The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is being developed for both the current and last-gen Xbox and PlayStation, in addition to Nintendo Switch and PC. The game now releases in 2022, placing it at the same release window as Amazon's upcoming Lord of the Rings MMO title.

Announced in March 2019, the title was originally set to release at some point this year. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is now pushed back roughly an entire year, but it remains to be seen exactly why this is. An IGN interview with the title's developer last year revealed that Gollum will have a "branching narrative" and play similarly to Prince of Persia, which has its own remake in development. The gameplay will allegedly be split into halves, with Daedalic stating that players will mostly shift between a more story-focused moral choice system and a tense, stealth-centric action title.

The developers are giving fans hope for a more fully-realized Gollum, revealing that the character will be much more nuanced and complex than the one portrayed in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings films, and it may offer closer insight into Gollum's mental health issues and his deterioration into the insanity that he suffers from.

While The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is a near certainty in its eventual release, other promising LOTR video games have unfortunately never seen the light of day. While many Tolkien fans are aware of the travesty that is The Lord of the Rings: The White Council, there was a more recent game that was indefinitely shelved. LOTR fans who aren't too crazy about the upcoming game's cartoony art style can check out recently found footage of a photorealistic Lord of the Rings title, which Warner Bros ultimately shot down.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum releases on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in 2022.

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Source: GamesRadar+