Aspyr Media announced the Middle-earth: Shadow Bundle, bringing Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Middle-earth: Shadow of War to the Nintendo Switch 2 on September 30, 2026. The collection pairs both open-world action games with their major DLC expansions, launching with a limited-time 50 percent discount.
Nintendo’s next-generation console is getting two open-world action games set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s universe.
The release follows Aspyr’s recent remaster of 2011’s The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, which publisher press releases framed as the first step in a broader initiative to bring classic franchise titles back to modern platforms.
Middle-earth: Shadow Bundle Content, Pricing, and Pre-Order Discounts
The Middle-earth: Shadow Bundle combines the Game of the Year Edition of the original 2014 game with the Definitive Edition of its 2017 sequel. The package normally costs $69.99, but Gamespot noted that pre-orders are currently running at half price, bringing the total down to $34.99 through October 6 at 2:59 AM ET.
Players who prefer to purchase the titles individually can also secure them during the pre-order window. The Game of the Year Edition of the first game is available for $9.99, down from $19.99, while the sequel’s Definitive Edition sits at $24.99, marked down from standard pricing.
Both releases pack extensive post-launch content, though offline optimization shapes how the sequel runs.
- Shadow of Mordor: Includes the Lord of the Hunt and The Bright Lord expansions, alongside bonus warband missions, runes, and skins.
- Shadow of War: Includes the Desolation of Mordor and Blade of Galadriel story expansions, plus the Slaughter Tribe and Outlaw Tribe Nemesis Expansions.
The Legacy of Talion, Celebrimbor, and the Nemesis System
Developed originally by Monolith Productions before Warner Bros. Games shuttered the studio in 2025, the Mordor games charted an original path through Middle-earth rather than retelling Tolkien’s traditional narratives. The first game follows Talion, a ranger of Gondor resurrected by an unusual bond with Celebrimbor, the Elven smith who forged the Rings of Power. Together, the pair wage a personal war against Sauron’s forces.
The sequel escalates that conflict, tasking players with forging a new Ring of Power and recruiting an army to launch massive fortress assaults inside Mordor.
Beyond open-world exploration and combat, the defining mechanical hook of both titles was the Nemesis System.
Aspyr’s Expanding Franchise Roadmap
The upcoming Switch collection represents the second major Lord of the Rings project handled by Aspyr following August’s release of the Legacy Edition for The Lord of the Rings: War in the North. When that initial remaster dropped, publisher statements indicated that additional classic games from the franchise were under consideration for modern platforms.
Fan communities have increasingly lobbied for other EA-era classics and strategy titles, though licensing hurdles remain a significant factor for titles like the Battle for Middle-earth series. For now, Aspyr has confirmed that further classic re-releases remain in development alongside the September 30 launch of the Switch 2 shadow bundle.
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