Shadow of War Memorializes Developer Who Died of Cancer With a New Character

Monolith, the studio developing the upcoming action-RPG Middle-Earth: Shadow of War, announced that they will be memorializing A Shadow of War developer who passed away last from a brain tumor in the game as a new character.

Michael Forgey was a Monolith Executive who died last year at the age of 43. He will live on in Shadow of War as a DLC character named Forthog Orc-Slayer. As the name says, he will be an orc-slayer who can kill orcs with a single blow. His name is partly based on the fact that Forgey was a prodigious musician and member of "Orc Slayer", a band formed by Monolith team members.

In fact, Forthog Orc-Slayer's weapon in the game is a guitar axe, a weapon made from a repurposed, fantasy guitar. Monolith released a trailer for the character and you can see him blow his way past several enemies easily with his musical weapon. Additionally, the song you hear in the trailer was one written and performed by Forgey.

Monolith will release Forthog Orc-Slayer when the game comes out for $3.99. $3.50 of every purchase will go to the Forgey family through December 31, 2019.

"Mike was larger than life," said Monolith studio head Kevin Stephens. "Mike was an incredible inspiration to our team. He was our front man in many respects. Everybody loved Mike."

The trailer was designed to showcase Forgey's real personality as Forthog Orc-Slayer. The trailer ends with Forthog smirking before charging towards the enemy. "He's going tot he Undying Lands," said Monolith's Director of Art Phil Straub, "He's embracing that."