Most games come out, receive a ton of patches and DLC, and then see some sort of definitive edition within a year. Middle-earth Shadow of War has followed this pattern almost exactly with its newly announced upcoming re-release. Coming on August 28, the Middle-earth Shadow of War Definitive Edition will include its two story expansions and two tribal expansions along with the multiple patches it has seen since its launch. It will be released on PC, PS4, and Xbox One for $59.99.
Middle-earth Shadow of War has been updated multiple times with the most recent one being one of the biggest. Last month, the game removed its controversial microtransactions and made the endgame less grindy. Taking out the loot box marketplace forced the reward system to be more dependent on playing and natural progression rather than grinding (or paying) for better items. Legendary Orcs were also made more common after the last update, further encouraging that its players actually play the game to grow stronger. Vice President at developer Monolith Productions Michael de Plater expressed how the team took criticism like that into mind in order to make the game even better.
“Since Middle-earth Shadow of War launched, we’ve continually looked at all of the feedback from our fantastic community and our fans, which has inspired us to keep improving the game and ultimately create a version that we are truly proud of,” he said. “Middle-earth Shadow of War Definitive Edition brings together all of our free content updates and gameplay improvements, along with our Story and Nemesis Expansions, providing the very best experience for players.”
Blade of Galadriel and Desolation of Mordor are the game’s two story expansions. Blade of Galadriel follows the Elven warrior Eltariel while Desolation of Mordor lets players take control of Baranor, one of Gondor’s main sergeants. Both are side characters from the main campaign. The Nemesis expansions each add a tribe with different characteristics and more gear sets and are fused into the main game.
