'Middle-earth: Shadow of War' Release Date: New 'Lord Of The Rings' Game Coming In August

Monday, game publisher Warner Bros. announced Middle-earth: Shadow of War, which is the sequel to 2014’s Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. The title will release for Xbox One, Microsoft’s upcoming Project Scorpio, PlayStation 4, the PS4 Pro and Windows 10. Shadow of War's release date is Aug. 22.

Shadow of War continues the story of Shadow of Mordor and revolves around fighting enemies like Sauron in author J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings universe. Chronologically, the game is set in between The Hobbit and the beginning of The Lord of the Rings. Check out the announcement trailer, which includes some great cinematic footage of battles, new characters and the wraiths from Lord of the Rings, below:

The game will also feature an updated version of Shadow of Mordor’s Nemesis system, which created procedurally generated non-player characters who reacted to a player’s in-game actions. Shadow of War will feature new Followers and Nemesis Fortress systems that provide additional ways to interact and fight with NPCs and enemies.

For fans of Shadow of Mordor, the news of a sequel confirms assorted speculation. Early leaks last March hinted at a sequel to the Lord of the Rings title and Sunday, Target accidentally put up a listing for a Gold Edition version of Shadow of War. The expanded version of the title is expected to include four expansion packs and a Gold War Chest. The original Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, which revolved around open world action elements, earned strong marks and critical praise from reviewers upon its release.