Middle-earth: Shadow of War hits this August, watch the trailer now

Middle-earth: Shadow of War, sequel to Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, hits Aug. 22 on a slew of platforms, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced this morning.

The game is coming to Xbox One, Project Scorpio, Windows 10 PC, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro. Shadow of War will also be an Xbox Play Anywhere title.

Shadow of War, first rumored over the weekend, will bring back Talion and Celebrimbor, who return as the Bright Lord as they go behind enemy lines to turn all of Mordor against the Dark Lord, Sauron. The game will also expand the popular Nemesis System found in Shadow of Mordor, introducing entirely new stories of loyalty, betrayal and revenge, according to the press release.

This time around the Nemesis System is 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, according to the press release.

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.

“Monolith Productions continues to innovate by introducing deeper, more personalized gameplay experiences, coupled with authentic storytelling,” said David Haddad, president of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, in a prepared statement. “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.”

WBIE

The game is being released as four different versions: standard, silver, gold and mithril. No prices are yet listed for the four editions, but here’s what they include.

Pre-ordering the standard versions nets you a legendary Champions War Part and exclusive epic Sword of Dominion.

The silver edition also comes with the Slaughter Tribe Nemesis Expansion, Outlaw Tribe Nemesis Expansion and a Silver War Chest, all of which is said to be worth $90. Those Nemesis expansions include a new Orc Tribe featuring new enemies, followers, missions, abilities, weapons, Fortress and wilderness updates, and a Mythic Gear Set.

The gold edition adds to the silver edition, also delivering The Blade of Galadriel Story Expansion, The Desolation of Mordor Story Expansion and a Gold War Chest instead of a silver one, all of which is said to be worth more than $125. The story expansions introduce a new campaign, playable character and abilities, side missions, enemies, allies and more.

Finally, the mithril edition gives you the silver and gold goods along with a limited edition 15-inch Tar-Goroth Balrog vs. Carnan Drake statue, collection of exclusive lithographs, premium case with magnetic Ring of Power, exclusive steelcase, official game music soundtrack, cloth Map of Mordor, Tribes sticker pack and both gold and mithril war chests. WBIE says this is all worth more than $350.

WBIE