To sell consoles, you also need the right games, as you have to be able to show what the new console can do in trailers and presentations. In 2017, Microsoft not only relied on its own brands, but also presented a Balrog from Lord of the Rings.
Which Microsoft console is being discussed? During E3 2017, which still existed back then, Microsoft presented the Xbox One X on June 11, 2017, which was released later that year on November 7, 2017. This was not a new console generation, but a new version of the Xbox One, significantly more powerful than the previous model and also offered 4K gaming. At launch, it cost 499 €.
In the course of this, a trailer was released, featuring well-known Xbox brands. But besides Master Chief and Forza, you could also see the One Ring in the video, which had already tempted Frodo.
Nowadays, Xbox is quite different from before:
A controversial game from Lord of the Rings alongside all the Xbox icons
Which Lord of the Rings game was shown? Before the trailer was shown during the presentation (via YouTube), a clip was played, showing the various resolution options over the years. It started with 640 × 480
in 2001 and then transitioned to 4K, with the words: It all leads to this point
.
In the clip, you can see various gameplay snippets of games that were released on different consoles. Then, the first trailer for the Xbox One X was shown. Besides technical animations, you see important Xbox brands: Master Chief from Halo, a character from Gears of War, and cars from Forza.
But one item doesn’t quite fit: the One Ring from Lord of the Rings is seen, carried by the character Talion.
He is the playable character in the action RPGs Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Middle-earth: Shadow of War. A little later in the trailer, you can even see a Balrog standing in front of the player.
You can watch the trailer here:
Middle-earth: Shadow of War was released on October 17, 2017, just a few weeks before the release of the Xbox One X. In addition to the prominent appearance in the trailer, there were a whole 6 minutes of gameplay shown at the Xbox show. It wasn’t just casually advertised next to the Xbox brands. The game benefited from the power of the then-new console.
As Digital Foundry noted in their review at the time, Shadow of War on the Xbox One X is the better console version when compared to the then-current PS4 Pro: As things stand, Shadow of War provides us with an excellent early example of why Microsoft targeted the specific specifications of the Xbox One X.
However, Shadow of War did not receive universally favorable reviews at launch. The microtransactions, in particular, faced sharp criticism. They were so unpopular that they were removed just 6 months later.
Years later, it is exciting to see how presentations, companies, and trailers have changed. For the developer behind Shadow of War, it is a sad story, as Warner Bros. ceased operations of Monolith Productions in February 2025 and left a great mechanic unused since then: One of the best mechanics in gaming was only used 2 times and now Warner Bros. has killed it
