Initially scheduled to release in August, Warner Bros. and Monolith’s RPG sequel Middle-Earth: Shadow of War will now launch for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on October 10th.
The announcement, which arrives just two weeks before the start of E3 2017, was made via Monolith’s official blog, where Community Manager Andy Salisbury relayed a statement from the dev team. Pointing to Shadow of War‘s intricate gameplay systems (namely the Nemesis System) and “massive open world,” Monolith reached its decision after declaring that Middle-Earth: Shadow of War simply wouldn’t be up to the required standard in time for that original August date. A two-month delay was in order, then, and in a bid to offset disappointment, there’s also mention of new footage being shown off at E3 in two weeks’ time.
Per Monolith:
Middle-earth: Shadow of War expands gameplay in every dimension, including the massive open world, the story, the RPG systems, and personal player stories of the Nemesis System. As with Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, Monolith is committed to delivering the highest quality experience. In order to do this, we have made the difficult decision to move our launch date to ensure that Middle-earth: Shadow of War will deliver on that promise.
We understand that it might be disappointing to have to wait a little longer for the release and are sorry for the delay, but we are working hard to make an amazing game. We’re excited to show more at E3.
Middle-Earth: Shadow of War will see Talion (Troy Baker) set off on a journey toward Minas Ithil, where he will lay down his sword to fight alongside one of the city’s last strongholds. Expect a revamped Nemesis System to feature in Monolith’s sequel, which we’ll no doubt learn more about at E3 2017.
So, there you have it; Shadow of War will now gallop onto PS4, Xbox One and PC on October 10th. Other notable titles currently pegged for the same release window include South Park: The Fractured But Whole, which has also been beset by delays of its own.
