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Embracer Group continues buying spree, adds Lord of the Rings IP, game studios

By George Yang August 18, 2022

Video game giant Embracer Group has obtained the rights for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien through its acquisition of Middle-earth Enterprises. The holdings company also acquired multiple other gaming studios to form its new group, Embracer Freemode.

Embracer Group has made major acquisitions recently, positioning it as one of gaming’s biggest forces. It made headlines earlier this year when it acquired Square Enix’s Western studios, obtaining the IP rights to franchises like Deus Ex. Now, the company holds the rights to the Lord of the Ring series — not just the rights to publish video games based on the franchise, but the entire IP.

The Lord of the Rings purchase is the most shocking bit of news from Embracer’s acquisition spree, but it’s only small piece of the company’s buying binge. Embracer Freemode will include the newly purchased Limited Run Games, Tuxedo Labs, Bitwave Games, Gioteck, Tripwire Interactive, Singtrix, and Tatsujin.

“Creators by their nature are at the forefront of industry-leading innovation and disruption, Lee Guinchard, Freemode CEO, said. “Founders are empowered to realize their true creative vision. Ultimately, our goal is to provide our entrepreneur-led companies with the essential resources to deliver the most exciting entertainment experiences for fans around the world.”

Bitwave Game, Tripwire Interactive, and Tuxedo Labs are game development studios. Bitwave also announced that it will be rereleasing retro titles like Truxton, Twin Cobra, Out Zone, and Zero Wing later this year. Tripwire is best known for games such as Killing Floor and Maneater, while Tuxedo Labs is the studio behind Teardown.

Tatsujin is Embracer’s first Japanese studio, led by Masahiro Yuge. Singtrix and Gioteck are more product companies, with the former focusing on music and audio gaming products while the latter creates gaming accessories like headsets and controllers. Limited Run Games creates physical copies of games and collector’s editions.

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George Yang is a freelance games writer for Digital Trends. He has written for places such as IGN, GameSpot, The Washington…

Gaming

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is unintentionally delightful

lord of the rings gollum art

One does not simply walk into Mordor; instead, one might opt to climb up a wall of vines or jump from platform to platform. That’s the crux of what The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is all about.

The game positions the player as the classic Lord of the Rings villain, shining light on his previously unexplored backstory, which includes his capture and subsequent escape from the clutches of evil. It’s a novel concept that I wasn’t exactly sure would work before trying it out for myself. Given all that, I knew I needed to play The Lord of the Rings: Gollum at PAX East, and after going hands-on with it, I came away with mixed thoughts that lean positive, with more than a few caveats.

Gaming

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum: release date, trailers, gameplay, and more

A close-up of Gollum.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is set to take us to an unexplored period of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth universe and give the legendary Lord of the Rings story a brand new story and lore. While Bilbo and Frodo Baggins are certainly heroes in the saga for finding, carrying, and ultimately destroying the One Ring and the Dark Lord Sauron, there's another hobbit who had a very important role to play — Sméagol (later known as Gollum).

While Gollum's tale has been touched on in the Lord of the Rings novels, Peter Jackson's iconic film trilogy, and other LOTR media, this game will be the first story focused solely on "the third hobbit." Gollum follows the notorious trickster as he is hunted down by Middle-earth's heroes and villains while wrestling with split personalities and obsession with the One Ring.

Gaming

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will finally release this May

Gollum from The Lord of the Rings: Gollum.

Daedelic Entertainment and Nacon's The Lord of the Rings: Gollum finally has a new release date. After a couple of delays, the unique Lord of the Rings game now has a May 25 release date. This news came alongside a new story trailer for the game, which teases the characters and enemies the titular character will encounter over the course of their adventure, like Gandalf and an emissary of Sauron.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum™ | Story Trailer
This game will provide a more in-depth look at Gollum's perspective on the events of the Lord of the Rings saga than we've seen before, and it looks and plays much differently than any other Lord of the Rings games before it. Combat is deemphasized; instead, players will spend their time climbing around recognizable Lord of the Rings locales, stealth-killing enemies that get in their way, and making multiple choices between what Gollum and what Smeagol want to do.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum was first announced in 2020 with a 2021 release window. It didn't come out that year and was pushed back to 2022. Things were shaping up nicely for a September 1, 2022 launch, but Daedelic Entertainment delayed it indefinitely just over a month before release so the developers could deliver "the best possible experience." While they said it was only going to be delayed "by a few months" at a time, fans will have waited nearly nine extra months by the time it releases.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will be released for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on May 25. A Nintendo Switch version is also in development, but it still has a vaguer "later this year" release window.