Monolith Production's controversial charity downloadable content (DLC) can now be downloaded for free for players who own "Middle Earth: Shadow of War."
Originally a paid DLC, the profits were to be donated to the family of Michael Forgey. An executive producer and developer for both "Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor" and "Middle Earth: Shadow of War," Forgey passed away last year after losing the battle against cancer.
All revenue from U.S. players who would download the digital content will go directly to the family of Forgey. However, the game is released worldwide. Confusion from the gaming community arose from this as revenue will be made from these international sales as well.
"Neither Warner Bros. Interactive nor Monolith Productions will not profit from any sales of the Forthog Orc-Slayer DLC regardless of the territory in which the DLC is sold," WBIE stated on a Sept. 5 report from Eurogamer.
Poor press releases and countless public outcry finally forced the developers and publisher of the game to put the DLC for free downloading. Players who have already purchased the DLC will be getting a full refund. WBIE will instead be donating directly to the family of Forgey. The company also encourages gamers to make their donations for the family of the deceased through YouCaring Charity.
A total of $133,000 has been currently raised in the YouCaring campaign for the deceased game developer.
The in-game character Forthog Orc-slayer is actually based on Forgey. The DLC character is an unstoppable warrior who saves mighty heroes in the time of their greatest need. In the promotional trailer for the DLC, Forthog is seen smirking satisfyingly after a battle — a gesture Mike 4G often showed to his colleagues.
"Middle Earth: Shadow of War" is an upcoming action role-playing game that is a sequel to the 2014 "Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor." It is scheduled for a full release worldwide on Oct. 10 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows.
