WB Games retains Nemesis System exclusivity until 2036 despite Monolith shut down

Warner Bros. Games announced the closure of several studios, including Monolith Productions, the developers of the Shadow of Mordor/War games, which has thrown the famous Nemesis System into question.

However, despite the closure of Monolith WB Games will retain ownership over the Nemesis System due to it being patented by the publisher back in 2021. The patent states WB Games will retain exclusive rights to the Nemesis System until 2036. For those who don't know, the Nemesis System debuted in Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor and gives enemy NPCs the ability to learn from player encounters, particularly in battles.

For example, if a player encountered an enemy chief orc in Shadow of Mordor and the player lost the battle, the orc would level up, remember the past fight with the player, and comment on it to the player. The same principle can be applied to player victories, where enemy NPCs would remember player exploits as if they were passed among the ranks as rumors sparking fear.

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The Nemesis System enabled players to have a personalized experience with NPC encounters, and when battles were lost, an enemy orc would evolve and ascend the orc ranks, creating a rivalry with the player. With its popularity, WB Games decided to lock it down by patenting it, which prevents any developer from implementing a similar system into their game.

The Nemesis System was scheduled to make a return in the now-canceled Wonder Woman game, which had its cancelation announced alongside the closure of Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and WB San Diego.

It's possible we will see the Nemesis System reemerge in another DC game, possibly a new Batman title where instead of orcs remembering players, it will be criminals remembering the Dark Knight. In WB Games' announcement of the closure of the studios, it stated it was now focussing on just a handful of franchises, which are predictable, such as Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, Game of Thrones, and DC Comics, but with an emphasis on Batman.

Out of the franchises mentioned, I can see Batman being the best fit for the Nemesis System seen in the Shadow of Mordor games, but that doesn't mean it can't be adopted for each of the franchises with specific improvements or changes. Ultimately, WB Games doesn't seem to want to give up rights to the Nemesis System despite the cancellation of the Wonder Woman game and the closure of the studio that created it, which leads me to say the publisher definitely isn't done with it, and that it will more than likely arrive in a future release.

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