The Lord of the Rings: Gollum was almost universally panned, but that’s apparently not stopping developer Daedalic Entertainment. The studio is reportedly developing another The Lord of the Rings game, which is said to be codenamed It’s Magic.
What is It’s Magic?
As noted by IGN, this listing can be found on the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action of Germany website. The roughly translated description says that it will transport players to a world “full of mythical creatures and spells” and see the perspective of a character that has “never been told before.” It’s also aimed at “avid fans of the fantasy story and 3D action-adventure genres.”
The page also notes that Daedalic received just over €2 million, which is almost $2.2 million. The duration of the funding runs from June 1, 2022 to August 31, 2024.
Daedalic has not officially announced its next project, but it did just apologize over the poor reception of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. Critics have eviscerated the title over its gameplay, performance, story, and presentation, something that has earned it an average score of 40 on OpenCritic. Given its reception, some may be skeptical that the studio can deliver a quality experience with that license.
This also might be the secret fifth The Lord of the Rings game that Embracer Group recently spoke of. The other four were accounted for — The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, Free Range Games’ crafting game The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, the free-to-play collectible mobile RPG Heroes of Middle-earth, and Wētā Workshop’s mystery game — so this could possibly be that final title that’s scheduled to release sometime in the next two years.