Orc hunting is now made more affordable, as developer Monolith and publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE) have made the "Middle-earth: Shadow Of War's" "Forthog Orc-Slayer" downloadable content (DLC) free.
The controversial DLC was originally sold, and the profits were to be given to the family of the late Michael Forgey, who was an executive producer at Monolith. Following confusion as to whether sales were really getting to the family, WBIE has recently decided to make the DLC available as free content. The company announced that it would instead make a single donation to the family.
In an official announcement, the publisher agreed that selling the DLC was not the best way to achieve their goal of memorializing Forgey. The statement read, "We now recognize that tying our donation to sales of the DLC was not the best way to achieve our goal of offering financial support to the family and creating a lasting memorial to Michael Forgey. We sincerely apologize to the fans and to the Forgey family for the confusion we created."
The DLC was meant to feature an Orc-slayer character in the game resembling Forgey, who died of cancer during the development process of "Shadow of War." Before the DLC was made free, it originally cost $4.99, with $3.50 of each purchase supposedly going to Forgey's family. However, fans soon found out that proceeds from sales outside of the US were not being given to the family, igniting the controversy. Further, it was unclear whether WBIE recognized that some states were exempt from the charity.
Players who have already bought the said DLC via pre-order need not worry, as they will be offered a refund.
"Middle-Earth: Shadow of War," is set for a release date of Oct. 10 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Android, and Microsoft Windows.
