Embracer Group recently reported a 21 percent drop in net sales for its gaming division for the second quarter of 2024, while entertainment sales fell 10 percent. I tend not to read too much into these numbers because there are often a multitude of factors that go into corporate earnings, and while necessary, I find them to be the most boring part of discussing art. What I'm more interested in is where Embracer lays the blame: at the foot of Lord of the Rings.
Unlike many on TheGamer, I'm not a big Lord of the Rings fan. Or any type of fan. But I recognize it as a legendary series of novels and other writings that have inspired generations of fantasy stories and have proven that it can be successfully transferred to other media such as film and television. With its massive fan base and rich history, it seems impossible to get LOTR wrong. And yet, in almost every turn, the Embracer Group has.
Gollum isn't the only problem
The obvious place to start is Gollum, but in a way that game was so bad that it doesn't seem like there was anything we can learn from it. A few overarching points, perhaps – lack of concern for iconic characters, no quality control, no sense of pride in the role of steward of these literary titans into the digital age… but the long and the short of it is that Gollum was complete rubbish.
The only thing you can draw from Gollum is the concept. I understand that it is tempting for some to see Gollum's lineage and his life away from encounters with key characters. Some others (many who were more dedicated fans) thought it took away his mystique, milked classic iconography without any reverence, and filled in gaps deliberately left open to interpretation. This highlights the rocky ground any LOTR video game must walk on – retell the story and be accused of a lack of imagination, or do something new and be accused of rewriting Tolkien.
Some purists will say that the solution then is to not make any video games at all, since Tolkien's work should be preserved as is, but that is not a very realistic solution for an entertainment company that bought the rights specifically to make video games out of it. And this is the crux of the matter – Embracer seems to have no affection for the property beyond making money. This is evident in Gollum, in its other games, and in LOTR's future.
The Lord of the Rings game keeps crashing
One of the many, many, many problems with Gollum was that it didn't seem to understand Gollum as a character, what his journey and motivations were, or why this concept was interesting. Although it was teased with the idea of choosing between which side of oneself to embrace, and consequences later, this had limited meaning to the game for the few who managed to get far enough through it in the first place.
I felt similar when previewing Tales of the Shire. A boring peasant sim about a hobbit's life, despite “going on an adventure” seemed to be a big draw of the hobbit's life, it felt like a generic cozy game with The Lord of the Rings loosely draped around its slow-paced gameplay, carried off on the nose references even I understood. I wrote my preview as an outsider to the fandom, putting on a playful “D'oh, what's a Gandalf?” affectation. It didn't sit well with fans who didn't appreciate the perspective of anyone other than a die-hard elf blinker. Let me tell you – when this game comes out, I won't be the one you're mad at.
Then again, games that embrace lore don't seem to get it right either – Return to Moria was praised in our review for sticking to Tolkien's work, but criticized for pretty much everything else being flat and boring. Embracer Group has chased The Lord of the Rings through various types of games, never going after the most obvious answer of a fantasy RPG, or returning to something like Shadow of Mordor. Instead, it bet big on an MMO, canceled it, and after seeing business partner Amazon repeatedly trash the genre with short-lived victories that haven't held course, decided to bet big on a second one.
Will Lord of the Rings MMO save it all?
Maybe this MMO will be Amazon's best. Maybe people will flock to it for the love of The Lord of the Rings, and stay with it thanks to the quality of the game. The track record has me doubting it, but maybe it will happen. If it does, it will be a win for the Embracer Group. But will it really be one for gamers and for Lord of the Rings?
MMOs, like Lord of the Rings, aren't really for me, so I don't want to be snobbish about it. It is a popular and successful genre, and has been for decades. But I can't help but feel that Embracer isn't particularly interested in the history of MMOs, or the player base, or even the appropriateness of LOTR. The scattershot tactic of lots of indie games with no real identity or guidelines has been replaced by a big investment in a potential cash cow. If it succeeds, it will be through luck and the power of IP alone.
What Embracer really needs are some parameters about what LOTR is for it and what makes a LOTR game. They don't need to cross-reference each other in an expanded universe, but there should be elements of Tolkien's work that they all respect, and design ideas that hold together “an Embracer LOTR game”. While I feel the obvious answer is an action RPG that emulates the heroic themes, that's not the only way to create a Lord of the Rings game. But in terms of audience, profit and Tolkien fans, Embracer's current ways are dead wrong. I don't care about the company's profits, but I hope it turns around soon for LOTR's sake.
