Middle-earth: Shadow of War
Sequels That Didn’t Surpass Their Predecessors, According to Steam
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor – 4,468,234
Middle-earth: Shadow of War – 952,284
The dramatic difference in player count between Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War is plain to see. Sure, it hasn’t been out for anywhere near the same amount of time, but the disparity so substantial that we doubt the same time on the market would make up the difference.
Could it be that a fallout following the much-publicized microtransaction debacle saw the franchises’ community abandon the sequel? Perhaps, or it could be that the shift in gameplay design that placed a more of an emphasis on base-siege might have turned its many gamers off. We’ll never be sure of the hard sales data, most likely, but it does seem as though Shadow of War didn’t find anywhere near the same community as Mordor.
