Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor launching five days early

Videogame release dates change all the time, but it's not often that they're moved ahead, rather than back. Yet that is exactly what's happened with Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor , which is going to hit the shelves a few days earlier than expected.

"Based on hearing fans' excitement over the latest chronicle in Middle-earth, WBIE will release the action game earlier than originally planned at all participating retailers," the publisher said in a press release. Monolith Community Manager Andy Salisbury emphasized the point on Twitter , writing, "We're fans of giving the people what they want!"

Not to be overly cynical about it, but Monolith may also be fans of not having their games buried by other releases. As Wikipedia notes, the original release date, October 7, is a busy day: Alien: Isolation, Driveclub, NBA 2K15, NBA Live 15 and Project Spark all launch on that day. October 2, on the other hand, is nothing but Mordor.

To find out more about Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, have a look at our hands-on E3 preview .

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.