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Middle-earth: Shadow of War Delayed Until October

Thousands of Orc generals asked for a couple of extra months to put their affairs in order, and Monolith obliged.

David Craddock

June 1, 2017 9:40 AM

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Developer Monolith published a blog to announce that Middle-earth: Shadow of War, the sequel to 2014's Shadow of Mordor, has been delayed from its original August 22 release date until October 10.

"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," the blog explains. "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."

The blog's fine print mentions that Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and other territories will have a different release date than October 10.

Monolith revealed Shadow of War back in February, following up with a gameplay preview in March. Intrepid Shack reporter Ozzie Mejia went hands-on with the game's Fort Assaults mode. "The premise of the Fort Assault is to lead a massive army into battle, taking the various capture points within the fort that are guarded by powerful war chiefs," Ozzie wrote. "Then it's time to head into the tower to take on the overlord. Each of the fortresses are unique in their defenses, whether they're protected by fortified stone walls, poison spouts that prevent climbing, or stronger hunters and beasts. The rush unfolds with the third-person action that Shadow of Mordor players have come to expect, but there's also a heavy amount of strategy involved."

In its blog announcing the delay, Shadow of War's development team assured fans that they can look forward to plenty more information come E3, less than two weeks from today. 

David Craddock

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.