Warner Bros states that they won’t profit from Shadow of War’s Forthog DLC

Last week, Monolith Productions and Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment revealed Shadow of War’s “Forthog Orc-Slayer” DLC, which is dedicated to Monolith’s Executive producer Michael Forgey, who sadly passed away last year after battling cancer.

In this DLC’s trailer, Warner Brothers stated that $3.50 from each DLC purchase would go to the Forgey Family until December 31st, 2019, through the small print of the trailer clarified that this only applied to the majority of US States and not to territories outside of the US and certain select states.     

No clarification was given on what would happen to money raised from this DLC outside of the United States, leading to accusations of unclear communications from the publisher to claims of profiting from the death of a beloved employee. Warner Brothers have since released the following statement to Eurogamer.

 

Neither Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment nor Monolith Productions will profit from any sales of the Forthog Orc-Slayer DLC regardless of the territory in which that DLC is sold. 

 

Sadly this does little to clarify the situation, as it does not state explicitly what will happen to the funds raised outside of their select US territories. Will these additional funds now be going to the Forgey family or will they be donated to charity? 

 

 

From the side of Monolith Productions, this has been seen as a very heartwarming gesture, immortalising the late Michael “Forthog” Forgey into the game that he helped to create. As a memorial to “Forthog”, Monolith decided to showcase parts of his character in Shadow of War, acting as a potential saviour for the player in times of great need, emulating what he did for the studio while he worked there. 

Even small details for “Forthog Orc-Slayer” showcases the man behind the legend, with his mighty axe acting as his chosen instrument both inside and outside of battle. In life, “Forthog” was known to be a talented musician, with the term Orc-Slayer coming from Monolith’s in-house band of the same name.

It is expected that additional clarification will be given in time about the fate of the funds raised by this DLC.  

 

You can join the discussion on Middle-Earth: Shadow of War’s “Forthog Orc Slayer” DLC on the OC3D Forums.