Game development studios under Warner Bros. Studios’ gaming division have experienced full-scale corporate shutdowns, displacing numerous employees from their hard-earned jobs. One affected company is Monolith Studios, the team behind the beloved Shadow of Mordor series and the now-canceled Wonder Woman game.
The Shadow of Mordor series was renowned for its innovative Nemesis System — something many players weren’t unprepared for when it debuted. It introduced a unique way to build grudges between the player and the game’s AI, generating procedurally created prime targets that must be hunted. If one of these targets managed to kill you, their reputation would grow, making them an even more formidable foe the next time you encountered them. Hence, the term "Nemesis."
It was a brilliant way to give AI henchmen real personalities — foes with which you could develop a personal rivalry. I remember one particular Orc in Shadow of Mordor who was annoyingly persistent; no matter how many times I took him down, he kept coming back. Even when I decapitated him or cut off his limbs, he would reappear, claiming he had "cheated death." It was hilarious, and these social vendettas were what made the Nemesis System truly special.
So, what happens to the Nemesis System now that Monolith has been shut down? Unfortunately, it's stuck in limbo.
Warner Bros. secured a patent for the system in 2021, so similar mechanics have not been seen in other popular titles. The patent protects key features such as "Nemesis characters, Nemesis forts, social vendettas, and followers in computer games."
We could have seen an even better iteration of the Nemesis System in Monolith Studios’ upcoming Wonder Woman game, but Warner Bros. fumbled hard by shutting the studio down — despite the developers making progress. Now, we can only speculate about what Wonder Woman’s Nemesis System could have been.
Other titles come close to this system, most notably with Assassin’s Creed’s ‘Mercenaries’ systems; although they lack the certain personality and charm of Shadow of Mordor’s talking Orcs, they somehow pulled off a tiered system despite its lukewarm attempt at it.
Warner Bros. originally filed for the patent in 2015 but was required to revise and resubmit it multiple times. Fortunately for them, it was finally granted on February 23rd, 2021. As a result, we won’t see another game featuring this kind of system anytime soon, as Warner Bros. retains ownership of the patent until 2035 — assuming they continue paying the necessary fees.
If we’re optimistic, we could see a big studio buy the patent for their next big-budget triple-A game. Rocksteady could leverage this system since they’re still under Warner Bros., and we might see the next Batman: Arkham titles with Monolith Studios’ proprietary Nemesis System.