Middle-earth™: Shadow of War™: PC requirements and the PC you need

About Middle-earth™: Shadow of War™

Middle-earth: Shadow of War is an open-world action game from Monolith Productions, set in Tolkien's Middle-earth and following Shadow of Mordor. You play the ranger Talion, who forges a fresh Ring of Power to raise an army of orcs and take on Sauron. Its Nemesis System gives enemy orcs their own names and memories, so they remember you and grow into personal rivals. You attack and defend huge fortresses. It is single player, has in-game purchases, and is rated PEGI 18. The makers recommend a GTX 970 or 1060 or an RX 480 or 580 and 12 GB of memory, so a mid-range gaming PC runs it well.

What Middle-earth™: Shadow of War™ needs

In plain words: to play at all it needs almost any graphics, even the graphics built into the processor, and to play it well the makers suggest a mid-range graphics card from a few years ago, with 12GB of memory.

A low-spec PC or a high-spec PC?

The gap between the minimum and recommended spec is modest, so a mid-range gaming PC gives a good experience.

On a PC that only just meets the minimum, the game will start and play, but on low settings: simpler shadows and textures, shorter view distances and fewer frames each second, so fast moments can feel less smooth. A 1080p screen is the sensible match.

On a PC that meets or beats the recommended spec, you can turn the settings up: sharper textures, proper shadows and lighting, more detail in the distance, and a smoother picture. A stronger PC also lets you use a sharper 1440p or high-refresh screen.

Questions about Middle-earth™: Shadow of War™ on PC

How we match: we compare the graphics card and the memory in each PC with the makers' spec, because those decide most of how a game runs. For very new or demanding games, ask us and we will check the processor too. More help: graphics cards explained, how much RAM, which screen.