Monolith Productions‘ acclaimed Nemesis system, which was used to great success in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, is still in possession of Warner Bros. thanks to a patent filed by the company that locks it away until 2036.
The patent was filed back in 2016 and granted five years later, and is described as “Nemesis characters, nemesis first, social vendettas and followers in computer game.” The patent expires on August 11, 2036, which means it’s in WB’s possession for 11 years.
Naturally this hasn’t gone down well with fans of Monolith Productions and its games, with users flocking to social media to air their frustrations. One fan had the following to say, which I think sums up a lot of thoughts at the moment:
Monolith literally created a one-of-a-kind system that procedurally generated a complete hierarchy of unique enemies that interacted with the player and itself in the Nemesis System. WB took that from them, patented it, and then closed their studio. Fuck them
The closure of Monolith Productions has also meant that the Wonder Woman game that was in production at the studio has been scrapped.
[Source – Nemesis Patent via Eurogamer]