Daedalic Entertainment, the company behind this year's critically lambasted The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, is reportedly set to exit game development and has laid off around 25 employees as part of the move. Additionally, a second Lord of the Rings game in development at the studio is said to have been cancelled.
Daedalic's The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, which was announced in 2019 for release in 2021, finally arrived last month, following numerous setbacks and delays. Its reception was less-than-positive, however, with Eurogamer's Christian Donlan calling it a "well-intentioned mess" in his 1 out of 5 review. It was something of a surprise, then, when reports surfaced soon after that Daedalic was currently working on a second Lord of the Rings game.
According to German website Games Wirtschaft, however, that game - which has reportedly been in the works since mid-2022 - is no more, with development now cancelled as part of Daedalic's sudden decision to shift away from development and solely into publishing following Gollum's poor reception.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum was not well-recieved when it finally arrived in May.
In a statement provided to the website (as per Google translate, but I've reached out to Daedalic for confirmation of the news and an official translation), Daedalic said 25 employees out of a team of more than 90 would lose their jobs as a result of the company's shift in focus.
"We value each and every member of our team and it is important to us that the transition goes as smoothly as possible," a company spokesperson said. "Therefore, we will support our former employees in finding new opportunities within our network."
Games Wirtschaft notes Surviving Deponia, a new entry in Daedalic's Deponia series being developed by external studio AtomicTorch, will be unaffected by today's news.
Daedelic, which is best known for the string of point-and-click adventures it has released since its founding in 2007, has struggled to find success in recent years. Its adaptation of Ken Follet's The Pillars of the Earth and strategy game A Year of Rain failed to find much of an audience, and the company closed its Düsseldorf and Munich studios in 2021.
Microsoft typically doesn't like providing data about the sales of Xbox consoles these days, but it looks like we have some anyway, courtesy of an apparent [email protected] presentation over at the BIG Festival in Brazil.
A snapshot from the presentation appears to reveal that over21 million Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles have now been sold, which results in over 79 million combined sales of the Xbox One, Series X and Series S so far.
For what it's worth, the website VGChartz is suggesting that Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S sales have just passed 22 million, while the PS5 is sitting at 38 million and the Nintendo Switch leads the pack with a whopping 126 million.
While Xbox clearly trails the PS5 and Switch right now, we think Microsoft will be pretty happy with these numbers overall - and it wouldn't be a surprise to see a surge in sales around the time of Starfield's release this September.
What are your thoughts about this? Let us know down in the comments section beow.
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Once again, we have reached the end of the working week, which means it’s time for First Look Friday.
The sunny weather of the past month has given way to a more familiar drizzle in the UK, and while optimists will say the trails needed some moisture, I for one am missing the consistent sunshine and a clean bike.
On the site, it has been another busy week following on from Eurobike, where over the weekend we caught a glimpse of Shimano’s new 105 mechanical groupset, the first 12-speed mechanical groupset from the brand.
On the mountain biking side, our senior technical editor Alex Evans reviewed Unparallel’s Dust Up flat shoes, the climbing brand’s first foray into cyclewear.
Anyway, without further ado, here’s the lowdown on the latest kit to land at BikeRadar HQ.
Berk Lupina Short Comic Edition saddle
The Comic Edition saddle features punk and pop culture references.Nick Clark / Our Media
Small Slovenian brand Berk has been making waves with its lightweight componentry for a while now. Founded in 2014, the brand has made products for Colnago and even shoes for Tadej Pogačar’s first season with UAE Team Emirates.
Saddles are Berk’s main product line, with the Lupina Short being a snub-nose version of the brand’s popular Lupina model.
The Lupina Short has a claimed weight of 95g, and features a full carbon fibre construction with the oval rails bonded to the saddle’s underside.
Because of its light weight, Berk sets a maximum rider weight of 100kg for the Lupina Short, something I’m sure most hill climbers won’t be affected by.
The white Innegra fibre can bee seen in the carbon weave of the seat.Nick Clark / Our Media
Being quite a short saddle, the Slovenian brand says it has manufactured some flex into the seat portion by using Innegra fibre within the carbon layup to add comfort.
This limited-edition version is finished with a comic theme featuring a collage of pop art and political figures, with Andy Warhol’s image of Blondie singer Debbie Harry featuring under the left buttock and Barack Obama’s head replacing the rivet.
The saddle features a cut-out, which is said to help prevent pressure on the perineum.
The limited-edition saddle also comes with pattern-matched bar tape with carbon fibre Berk-branded bar plugs.Nick Clark / Our Media
Berk says the saddle features a ‘T’ shape, which can be seen in the wide nose of the saddle. The brand says it reduces the amount of friction when pedalling.
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Wolf Tooth Waveform pedals
Wolf Tooth’s Waveform pedals feature 11 pins on each side.Nick Clark / Our Media
These pedals from US-based brand Wolf Tooth are CNC’d from a single billet of aluminium and feature a dual-concave platform that’s 12.5mm thick in the centre and 14mm thick on the perimeter.
Wolf Tooth says the dual-concave platform helps prevent your foot from moving not only front and back, but also from side to side.
This is assisted by 11 stainless steel pins on either side of the pedal for added grip, with Wolf Tooth providing six spare pins in the box.
The pins are screwed in from the rear with an Allen key.Nick Clark / Our Media
The Waveform pedals come in two sizes, Small and Large, to better fit your shoe size.
The Small version is 105x99mm and weighs 373g, while the Large is 112x106mm and is 11g heavier at 384g.
The pedals feature three sealed bearings, with a custom radial seal on the spindle to protect the internal components from trail debris.
The pedals are labelled with their correct side on the bottom.Nick Clark / Our Media
The body of the pedal features tapered edges to deflect rock strikes, and engraved onto the platforms are an ‘L’ and ‘R’ to denote on which side the pedal belongs – a handy feature for someone changing pedals frequently.
The Waveform pedals are available in eight colours and come with a five-year warranty.
£195/$199
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Specialized x Fjällräven Merino Wool Caliswe T-shirt
The shirt has a ‘willow’ pattern’.Oscar Huckle / Our Media
Specialized and Fjällräven have joined forces to launch another collaborative clothing range.
The collection sees a focus on bikepacking, with the Merino Wool Caliswe T-Shirt featuring two randonnées touring by bike.
The shirt is made from a 50/50 wool-polyester blend, which should keep it breathable on hot days.
I am a big advocate of Merino T-shirts when touring, because the casual style allows for everyday tourist activity while still remaining breathable on the bike.
Wool’s antimicrobial properties also mean it can be worn for more than one day without needing to stop at a laundromat.
The pocket doesn’t feel big enough for a phone.Oscar Huckle / Our Media
The rear of the Merino Wool Caliswe T-Shirt features a zip pocket big enough for keys or credit cards and has a string-pull zipper.
A cycling cut is used in the form of a high-low hem, with the shirt being slightly longer at the back to compensate for the back arch when riding.
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Bell Sanction 2 DLX
The new helmet is available in five colourways, with the pink Bonehead livery the most out there.Nick Clark / Our Media
Bell’s new Sanction 2 DLX helmet looks to borrow its design heavily from the brand’s range-toping Full-10 downhill helmet and features 14 vents for cooling.
A Fidlock buckle is used for fastening, which should enable one-handed release, while the inside of the helmet features a MIPS lining to reduce rotational forces from certain impacts.
The Sanction 2 is Bell’s first low-end full-face helmet to feature a MIPs lining.Nick Clark / Our Media
Bell says the helmet is made from a durable ABS shell with an EPS liner, which helps keep the weight down – with the helmet said to weigh 1,080g for a size medium.
The helmet is rated for downhill and BMX riding, and uses an Ionic+™ Antimicrobial comfort liner, which uses silver metallised yarn to reduce odour.
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Authors
Nick Clark is a digital writer for BikeRadar, focusing on all things mountain bikes. Having raced XC for most of his youth, he has a deep understanding of the sport and loves bounding around the UK to spectate at events. A mountain biker at heart, Nick helped create a community of trail builders in his local forest in North Wales. Nick also loves road cycling, where he has completed the holy trinity of spectating at all three grand tours in their host countries. Described as having a good engine in his racing days, it’s now common to see Nick wheel-sucking on club rides and sprinting for town signs. He also enjoys bike touring and has completed numerous travels on the west coast of Europe, most recently riding from Lisbon to Roscoff. Nick has built many of his bikes from the frame up and has a keen eye for technical detail. He is currently riding a YT Capra on the trails and a Focus Izalco Max for the road.
