In Middle-earth: Shadow of War, players wield a new Ring of Power and confront the deadliest of enemies, including Sauron and his Nazgul, in a monumental battle for Middle-earth. The open-world action-adventure game is brought to life through the expansion of the award-winning Nemesis System. The robust personalization from the first game is now 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.

Set between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Middle-earth: Shadow of War continues the original narrative of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. Players will be engrossed in a richer, more personal and expansive world full of epic heroes and villains, iconic locations, original enemy types, even more personalities and a new cast of characters with untold stories.

In Middle-earth: Shadow of War, nothing will be forgotten.

Monolith is pushing their Nemesis technology hard for Shadow of War as one of the more promising technical innovations in recent memory.

Nemesis simulates a living world, at least in broad strokes. It catalogs your actions and doles out consequences and tailored experiences appropriately.

In 2014’s Shadow of Mordor, the system allowed for startling random encounters. Slay an orc leader and Nemesis might make him return later, uglier and nastier, spouting a colorful one-liner referencing his fate and proclaiming his vengeance.

But in Shadow of War, Nemesis seems to be headed in bolder, more intriguing directions. Yes, you’ll still encounter death and destruction, but also stories of betrayal, loyalty, even friendship, according to de Plater. Because Nemesis’s tendrils can now bind characters and environments, each player’s game can play out that much differently.

You capture an orc fortress. Do you reward the loyalty of a follower by naming him overseer, or gain a sensible strategic advantage by handing it to a veteran war chief? Either way, you’ll live — or die — with the consequences.

Deeper customization and loot for the RPG-minded, more gruesome combat for the gorehounds. Meanwhile, the new fortress conquest scenarios shown in the gameplay debut hint at a bigger, yet more focused experience.

As an Xbox Play Anywhere title, players can purchase a digital version of Middle-earth: Shadow of War once and play it on both Xbox One and Windows 10 PC. Gamers can pick up where they left off on another Xbox One or Windows 10 PC, bringing all the saves, game add-ons and achievements with them at no additional cost.