Warner Bros. has moved the release date of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor forward. It will now be available in North America on September 30 and the rest of the world* on October 2. (*Aside from Australia. In AU the game's release date remains October 8, although the game will be available on Steam on the new global date.)

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The game was originally due to hit PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC a week later, but has cited clear fan excitement as one of the reasons for the change. Presumably, EA's decision to move some of its heavy-hitters out of October also helped make the date more appealing.We'll have much more on the game soon but for now you can check out our preview in which Talion hunts down Ratbag, a goblin slaver, and also read about why Lord of the Rings fans would be mistaken to write it off

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK News Editor. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on Twitter