'Middle-earth: Shadow Of War' Officially Announced, Arrives August 22

A day after the game was leaked on Target’s website, Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment formally announced Middle-earth: Shadow of War, the sequel to 2014's Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor.

Once again, Monolith Productions is tasked with the overall development of the game, which takes place between the events of the The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The game’s protagonists, the Ranger Talion and his Wraith counterpart Celebrimbor, are once again at the center of the story. The duo forged another Ring of Power and must use it in the inevitable war against Sauron and his dark army.

Some of the first game’s many features return, including the praised Nemesis system. The mechanics featured procedurally generated bosses throughout the map, all of which had different personalities, as well as varying strengths and weaknesses that you could use to your advantage in order to take them down. This time around, however, the system will also add Followers to your group. According to the game’s press release, these new minions will “bring about entirely new stories of loyalty, betrayal, and revenge.” There are also “Nemesis Fortresses,” which seem to imply that you’ll  have to conquer multiple enemy-held strongholds with the help of your growing army of Orcs.

Other than the cinematic gameplay, players can expect the first batch of gameplay footage to drop on March 8. The game is set to release on August 22 on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. Aside from Steam, the game will also be available as an Xbox Play Anywhere title, which allows Xbox fans to own the console and Windows 10 version of the game if they buy a digital copy.