Electronic Arts' The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II, The Rise of the Witch-king shipped to retailers nationwide today, and shipped Internationally on November 24, 2006.

As the expansion pack to the fan favorite, The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II, this Real-time Strategy (RTS) game enhances every existing feature and offers players the chance to command the rise of evil in Middle-earth while experiencing the epic battles that took place before those depicted in the films from New Line Cinema.

Full of exciting content, including an entirely new faction, completely new single player campaign, and additional units for all six existing factions, The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II, The Rise of the Witch-king, allows players to explore the evil side of Middle-earth. The all new single player campaign tells the story of the evil Witch-king's rise to power and invasion of the great kingdom of Arnor, home to Aragorn's ancestors. To fully experience the evil side of Middle-earth, gamers can now play as the Angmar faction in skirmish, multiplayer, and War of the Ring modes. Create-A-Hero's entirely new and unique Troll class grants players more creative freedom for their heroes in addition to new weapons and armor that will allow players to have even more choices in customizing their favorite heroes. War of the Ring, a risk-style meta-game, offers upgraded army persistence, a new siege dynamic on the Living World Map, and unified territories that serve as major control points.

An EA Los Angeles (EALA) game developed exclusively for the PC under the EA brand, The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II, The Rise of the Witch-king includes all new content from J.R.R. Tolkien's original fiction, and allows the player to delve deeper than ever before engaging in battles that go beyond the award-winning movie trilogy. EALA brings The Lord of the Rings world to life in accordance with an agreement with The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Tolkien Enterprises that grants EA the rights to develop games based on the books, in addition to a separate agreement that allows for games based on the New Line Cinema films.

The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II, The Rise of the Witch-king requires The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II for the PC in order to play.

For more information visit www.bfme2.ea.com.