Warner Bros. and Monolith Production have officially announced Middle-Earth: Shadow of War, the sequel to 2014’s critically acclaimed Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor.
The announcement comes just hours after retail giant Target accidentally listed the game for pre-ordering on its website, complete with its title and box art.
Hero Talion will make his return, as will his ghostly companion Celebrimbor, and the game will feature an “expanded” version of the Nemesis system seen in the original game, which pits individual enemies against Talion in battles that alter their personalities and motivations. Environments and other characters will now also be shaped by player decisions. Big baddie Sauron will also appear after his defeat at the end of the previous game.
Multiple special editions of Shadow of War will be available. The Gold Edition will include four expansion packs as well as some in-game currency. The new expansions gives players the chance to play with new characters and abilities, and will include new side missions and enemies. Two of these expansions are also included in the Silver Edition, while the “Mithril” Edition bundles the Gold Edition’s contents with an enormous statue, steelbook, soundtrack, map, lithographs, ring, stickers, and leaflet.
More: Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor Review
The first game, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor surprised critics and gamers by bringing a fresh spin to the Lord of the Rings franchise. Many felt that it translated the gameplay and feel of the Batman: Arkham Knight series to J.R.R. Tolkein’s fantasy world. While the combat wasn’t perfect, and the ability to run away from any battle did kill some of the immersion, overall the game was great. Currently the game sits at an 84 on Metacritic.
Middle-Earth: Shadow of War will launch for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC on August 22. The Xbox One and PC versions support the “Xbox Play Anywhere” program, and support for Project Scorpio will be added this holiday season.
Updated on 2-27-2017 by Gabe Gurwin: Added official confirmation from publisher.
