Warner Bros. will retain the patent for Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor 's Nemesis system until 2036, following the closure of Monolith Productions. Since Monolith is now shuttered, this also means that the developer's Wonder Woman game, which was announced back in 2021, is also canceled.

Warner Bros Discovery recently shut down a trio of game studios, including the well-regarded Monolith Productions. This has put one of the coolest game mechanics of the 2010s in limbo. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor's excellent Nemesis system is locked behind a patent owned by Warner Bros all the way until 2036,

The Nemesis system, for those unfamiliar, is a clever in-game mechanic which tracks a player's actions to create enemies that feel capable of remembering past encounters. In the studio's Middle-earth games, this allowed foes to rise through the ranks and enact revenge.