The Lord Of The Rings Officially Returning For Sauron-Focused Prequel

Published Sep 23, 2026, 6:29 AM EDT

James is a gaming writer from London who has spent thousands of hours exploring titles from every genre. Though he has a particular affinity for multiplayer titles like World of Warcraft, Destiny 2 and League of Legends, he has also put thousands of hours into single-player experiences, from deep RPGs to epic PC strategies. When he's not playing or writing, he can usually be found supporting his beloved Brentford FC.

Sign in to your ScreenRant account

The Lord of the Rings is the greatest fantasy creation of all time, and a big part of that is the villain who threatens to destroy everything that the morally sound forces of humans, elves and dwarves have been working towards for many years (though they weren't always pulling in the same direction). After the defeat of Morgoth, Sauron steps into the void and does his best to take over Middle-earth on several occasions, only just being stopped for good thanks to the plucky nature of hobbits at the end of the Third Age.

That said, in The Lord of the Rings itself, particularly the movies, we don't really get to see too much of him, and though he's a looming threat, it's more amorphous than the physical form he takes in the War of the Last Alliance. His appearances in other adaptations are more tangible though, and one of his very best is about to get an entirely new release that fans will almost certainly want to be aware of.

As first reported by RPGsite, both Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Middle-earth: Shadow of War are being released on Nintendo Switch 2 in the near future, according to listings found on the American Nintendo store. Though they are far from canon and actually did annoy some of the more lore-focused fans in the way they approached the existing story, they really are excellent games and Sauron features heavily.

Players take control of the fallen ranger Talion, whose spirit is combined with the long-dead elf Celebrimbor, the original creator of the Rings of Power. As Sauron's forces rise and his orc forces mass, Talion takes them on directly in one of the best action games of the last couple of decades, in Shadow of Mordor.

The games are most well-known for the genuinely brilliant Nemesis system, which essentially sees orc and troll commanders function in a genuine hierarchy, where they earn traits and positions in an organic fashion based on the player's actions. It's a huge shame it hasn't been seen since, but there is some renewed hope that it could return in the future.

The sequel adds other elements to the proverbial party, including massive sieges and additional characters from the existing lore, though it does perhaps feel a little more bloated than the original.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is launching as the Game of the Year Edition, priced at $19.99, though a pre-order discount brings that down to a very reasonable $9.99, while Middle-earth: Shadow of War launches as the Definitive Edition priced at $49.99 with a pre-order discount putting the price at $24.99.

You can also pick up both Middle-earth games as a bundle, which is also discounted by 50% off during the pre-order period, bringing it to $34.99 from $69.99.

Systems