Game publisher Nacon acquires creator of Lord of the Rings: Gollum and Deponia

French game publisher Nacon has acquired Lord of The Rings: Gollum developer Daedalic Entertainment. The two companies have already collaborated on the new game. Nacon says Daedalic will continue to operate largely independently.

The publisher pays 53 million euros for the developer, writes Nacon. It is the company’s largest acquisition to date. The acquisition amount consists of EUR 32 million in cash that will be paid immediately and a cash payment in 2026 if certain targets are achieved. All 87 employees of the German Daedalic Entertainment will work for the new company. According to Nacon, the founder and chief operating officer will both continue to lead the company. Daedalic will be given ‘a high degree of autonomy in terms of development and publishing’.

Daedalic is best known for the upcoming game The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. That adventure game follows the eponymous character from the books and movies, but previous gameplay trailers also featured wizard Gandalf and elf king Thranduil. That game should be released in the first quarter of this year. The two companies already worked closely together, as Nacon is the publisher of that game. Daedalic also has more than 90 other titles to his name, including Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth, the Deponia series and Shadow Tactics.