Middle-earth: Shadow of War Revealed by Warner Bros As A 2017 Title

Written by Brandon Hofer on February 27, 2017

News: You will be able to play the sequel to Shadow of Mordor later this year and Warner Bros specifically stated there will be a Scorpio version.

Warner Bros has revealed that Middle-earth: Shadow of War, the sequel to Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, is currently in development. It is being developed by Monolith Productions and features an original story with the return of Talion and Celebrimbor, who must go behind enemy lines to forge an army and turn all of Mordor against the Dark Lord, Sauron.

In Middle-earth: Shadow of War, players wield a new Ring of Power and confront the deadliest of enemies, including Sauron and his Nazgul, in a monumental battle for Middle-earth. The open-world action-adventure game is brought to life through the expansion of the award-winning Nemesis System. The robust personalization from the first game is now applied to the entire world where the environments and characters are all shaped by player actions and decisions, creating a personal world unique to every gameplay experience.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War will be available for Xbox One, Project Scorpio, Windows 10 PC (Windows Store and Steam), PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro beginning August 22, 2017. Middle-earth: Shadow of War will be available as an Xbox Play Anywhere title.

“Monolith Productions continues to innovate by introducing deeper, more personalized gameplay experiences, coupled with authentic storytelling,” said David Haddad, President, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “Middle-earth: Shadow of War truly drives the genre forward by taking the Nemesis System to new heights and allowing players to create their own personal journey within Middle-earth.”

“Following the amazing reception to Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, we massively expanded every dimension of the game, including the world, the story, the RPG systems, the core gameplay and of course the personal player stories of the Nemesis System,” said Michael de Plater, Vice President, Creative, Monolith Productions. “As lifelong fans of Middle-earth, we are so grateful to have the privilege to bring to life the most incredible fantasy world ever created in a new way, for a new generation. With Middle-earth: Shadow of War, we can’t wait to see the amazing stories players are going to create and share.”

The Nemesis System created unique personal stories through procedurally-generated enemies who remember every encounter and are differentiated by their personality, strengths and weaknesses. Middle-earth: Shadow of War expands this innovation with the introduction of Followers who bring about entirely new stories of loyalty, betrayal and revenge. The Nemesis System is also expanded to create a unique personal world through Nemesis Fortresses, which allows players to utilize different strategies to conquer dynamic strongholds and create personalized worlds with their unique Orc army.

Set between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Middle-earth: Shadow of War continues the original narrative of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. It will have a richer, more personal and expansive world full of epic heroes and villains, iconic locations, original enemy types, even more personalities and a new cast of characters with untold stories.

As an Xbox Play Anywhere title, players can purchase a digital version of Middle-earth: Shadow of War once and play it on both Xbox One and Windows 10 PC. Gamers can pick up where they left off on another Xbox One or Windows 10 PC, bringing all the saves, game add-ons and achievements with them at no additional cost. Additionally, I think this might be the first title officially announced for Scorpio. Middle-earth: Shadow of War is slated to be released on August 22 but Scorpio itself probably won’t release until the fall so one has to figure the Scorpio version obviously won’t launch until the console does.

Check out the reveal trailer below and tell us what you think. Did you enjoy Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor? Are you looking forward to Middle-earth: Shadow of War?