After Warner Bros. Shut Down Shadow of Mordor Developer Monolith and Canceled Wonder Woman, Fans Lament the ‘Wasted Potential’ of Its Nemesis System

Yesterday’s shock news that Warner Bros. had shut down three studios and canceled its Wonder Woman game sent shockwaves throughout the industry and the gaming community at large. And as the dust settles on yet another devastating round of cuts, fans of Monolith Productions’ much-loved Nemesis System are lamenting its “wasted potential.”

The Nemesis System began life as part of Monolith’s well-received 2014 action adventure game Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. It fuels randomly named enemies in Sauron’s army that are generated uniquely with each playthrough of the game. Each nemesis has their own personality and will rise or fall within their social structure as the game progresses. They are affected by protagonist Talion’s actions, and each will react differently to Talion’s incursion into Mordor, be it fight, flight, or some other reaction.

With 2017 sequel Shadow of War, Monolith sought to improve upon its Nemesis system by increasing the variety of emergent stories and their emotional impact. Warner Bros. had confirmed the Nemesis System was set to return for Monolith’s Wonder Woman game, although it was light on the details.

Announced in December 2021 with a brief teaser trailer and description, Wonder Woman was a single-player action adventure set in a “dynamic” open-world in which players became Diana of Themyscira in an original story set within the DC universe.

With Monolith’s closure, only two games will have made use of the Nemesis system, a fact not lost on fans who are already pointing to the end of Warner Bros. vice-like grip on the Nemesis system patent.

>WBG patents the nemesis system from Shadow of Mordor in 2021. Makes it so no other game company can use a similar system
>Annouces a Wonder Woman the same year
>No info for 4 years
>Cancels the game by shutting down the studio making it https://t.co/VLqRHS37VZ pic.twitter.com/xzj9gAe5po

— Outsid3r (@MrOutsid3r) February 25, 2025

“I don’t understand one iota how WB handled this Nemesis System debacle,” said redditor birminghamsterwheel. “Two games, the last being eight years ago, and nothing else? Not giving it to any of your other studios? Not licensing it out? WTF?”

Warner Bros. only managed to secure the Nemesis System patent in 2021 after its application was filed in 2016, with an adjusted expiration of August 11, 2036.

The patent, filed as “Nemesis characters, nemesis forts, social vendettas and followers in computer games,” effectively codifies the functions of Monolith’s Nemesis system and the sum of its parts as the property of Warner Bros.

While the language in the application is fairly obtuse — as most patent claims tend to be — the short version is that the patent covers a system featuring procedurally-generated NPCs that exist in a hierarchy and interact with and will remember the actions of players, have their appearance/behavior altered by players, and whose place in that hierarchy can change and affect the position of other NPCs in said hierarchy.

It also covers the Social Conquest battles from Shadow of War, wherein players can fortify or attack one another’s strongholds to see how their army of orcs fares against their friends’.

The biggest sin of Monolith Productions getting the ax is that we will never see the nemesis system ever again in any game due to the patent pic.twitter.com/8c9EVyTNg6

— 𝕵𝖔𝖘𝖍 ⚰️ (@BloodShotKatana) February 25, 2025

Warner Bros. had tried to secure the patent for the system since 2015, but had to repeatedly revise and resubmit the application. Initial rejections claimed that there were too many similarities in the application to other patents, including those held by Square Enix, the mobile game QONQR, and even Webkinz, though more rejections were more focused on the specificity of language throughout the patent.

The patent means any developer wishing to build a feature with all the aspects detailed in the patent (or at least enough to be considered infringement) would have to secure a license from Warner Bros.

Developers are able to create similar systems that aren’t a 1:1 recreation of Monolith’s program, however. The Mercenaries in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey or Watch Dogs Legion’s Census system are examples of dynamically-generated NPCs and social networks that were not met with a legal challenge.

After making two incredible Middle-earth games, and developing an entirely unique “nemesis system” for them, an entire studio is shuttered seemingly because of factors and failures outside their control.

What a tragic waste. I hope these talented folks find a new home soon. https://t.co/iPIVySh0uA

— Bear McCreary 🐻🎶 (@bearmccreary) February 26, 2025

But what happens now? With no Monolith around to use the Nemesis system and its Wonder Woman game canceled, there are fears Warner Bros.’ Nemesis patent will simply act as a deterrent until 2036 and go unused for another decade.

It wasn’t just Monolith and Wonder Women that were cut. Warner Bros. also shut down MultiVersus developer Player First Games and WB San Diego. Here’s Warner Bros.’ statement:

We have had to make some very difficult decisions to structure our development studios and investments around building the best games possible with our key franchises — Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, DC and Game of Thrones. After careful consideration, we are closing three of our development studios — Monolith Productions, Player First Games and Warner Bros. Games San Diego. This is a strategic change in direction and not a reflection of these teams or the talent that consists within them.

The development of Monolith’s Wonder Woman videogame will not move forward. Our hope was to give players and fans the highest quality experience possible for the iconic character, and unfortunately this is no longer possible within our strategic priorities. This is another tough decision, as we recognize Monolith’s storied history of delivering epic fan experiences through amazing games. We greatly admire the passion of the three teams and thank every employee for their contributions. As difficult as today is, we remain focused on and excited about getting back to producing high-quality games for our passionate fans and developed by our world class studios and getting our Games business back to profitability and growth in 2025 and beyond.

Create the Nemesis system for video games

Everyone loves it

Refuse to allow anyone else to use it

Never use it again

Shut down a bunch of your game developers

Fuckin’ bravo WB

— Aeon Penenko ⓸ 🏳️‍⚧️🇵🇸 (@AeonPeneko) February 25, 2025

These shutdowns continue a trend going back roughly three years of increasing games industry layoffs, project cancellations, and studio closures. In 2023 alone, it’s estimated that over 10,000 game developers were laid off. That number shot up to over 14,000 in 2024, and while 2025 has seen numerous closures, the exact number of impacted individuals is hazier due to fewer companies reporting these layoffs and shutdowns, or specific numbers affected.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.