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.

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 Wikipedianotes, 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.