Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Middle-earth: Shadow of War are coming to Nintendo Switch 2 on September 30, 2026. Aspyr is bringing both Monolith Productions games to a Nintendo platform for the first time, either separately or together in the new Middle-earth: Shadow Bundle.
The releases are not stripped-down base-game ports, either. Switch 2 is getting Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition and Middle-earth: Shadow of War Definitive Edition, which means the major DLC and expansions are included.
More importantly, it brings the series’ famous Nemesis System to a portable Nintendo console. Orc captains can remember previous fights, develop strengths and weaknesses, rise through the ranks, and turn an apparently routine encounter into a personal grudge that lasts for hours.
Shadow of Mordor brings the Nemesis System to Switch 2
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor originally launched in 2014 and follows Talion, a ranger stationed at the Black Gate who is killed alongside his family before being mysteriously returned to life and bound to the wraith Celebrimbor.
The story sends the pair across Mordor to confront Sauron’s forces, but it was the Nemesis System that made the game stand out. Important Orc enemies can survive battles, remember Talion, gain promotions and develop new traits based partly on what happens during encounters.
The Switch 2 version is the Game of the Year Edition. It includes the Lord of the Hunt and The Bright Lord story missions, additional Warband missions, runes, skins and the other content released for the game.
Shadow of War turns those Orc rivalries into an army
Middle-earth: Shadow of War expands almost everything its predecessor introduced. Talion and Celebrimbor return with a new Ring of Power, while the Nemesis System grows beyond individual rivalries into recruitment, army building and enormous fortress assaults.
Captains can become followers, commanders and bodyguards, while rival Orcs continue developing their own personalities and relationships. Fortress sieges then bring those systems together as Talion builds an army and tries to conquer strongholds from Sauron’s forces.
The Definitive Edition contains the Blade of Galadriel and Desolation of Mordor story expansions alongside the Slaughter Tribe and Outlaw Tribe Nemesis expansions.
There is one Switch 2-specific difference worth knowing about. The release has been optimized around offline play, so features including Online Conquests, Vendettas and online Fight Pits are not available. The Garrison itself remains usable offline, allowing undeployed Orc followers to be reassigned between regions.
What is included in the Middle-earth: Shadow Bundle?
The Middle-earth: Shadow Bundle simply packages the two complete editions together, making it the easiest way to play Talion’s full story on Switch 2.
| Game | Edition | Main extras |
|---|---|---|
| Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor | Game of the Year Edition | Lord of the Hunt, The Bright Lord, Warband missions, runes and skins |
| Middle-earth: Shadow of War | Definitive Edition | Blade of Galadriel, Desolation of Mordor, Slaughter Tribe and Outlaw Tribe expansions |
The bundle normally costs $69.99, but Aspyr is offering a 50% launch preorder discount, bringing it down to $34.99 until September 30. Both games can also be purchased separately.
For anyone who never played the series, that makes the bundle a straightforward way to move from the original Nemesis System into the much larger armies and fortress warfare of Shadow of War without missing the DLC released along the way.
Switch 2 keeps collecting major ports
Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War are also becoming part of a much bigger Switch 2 trend. Nintendo’s newer console has already attracted ports and native versions of games that would have looked much less likely on the original Switch, with publishers increasingly treating the hardware as another destination for major PC, PlayStation and Xbox releases.
Cyberpunk 2077, Fallout 4, Final Fantasy VII, Resident Evil, Indiana Jones, Elden Ring and plenty of others have either arrived or joined the growing list of confirmed releases.
For a much broader look at that trend, check our Nintendo Switch 2 third-party games guide, where we are tracking the major ports, new releases and other big games heading to the system.