Summary
Warner Bros. may have closed some of its more prominent studios, but it will retain a patent created in a game made by one of its now former subsidiaries.
The gaming world was shocked when it was revealed that Warner Bros. had canceled the Wonder Woman game that was first announced back in 2021 and never had a proper gameplay trailer. Wonder Woman has been in development for years, and there is a lot of speculation as to why it would be shut down now.
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They hates it.
On top of Wonder Woman’s cancelation, Warner Bros. also announced that it had closed three of its studios: WB San Diego, Player First Games, and Monolith Productions, the last of which was working on Wonder Woman.
While Warner Bros. may have destroyed Monolith Productions, it still keeps one of the patents made by the company. As Imran Khan of VentureBeat confirmed, Warner Bros. will retain the patent to the Nemesis system from The Lord of the Rings games produced by Monolith for at least another decade.
Warner Bros. Has The Nemesis System For Another Decade
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor – Talion Melee Strike
The Nemesis system was created for Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor and used again in its sequel, Shadow of War. Essentially, the Nemesis system allowed the player to have rival characters in the game world that got stronger as they defeated the protagonist, remaining throughout the story.
While a lot of content in video games cannot be patented, Warner Bros. managed to gain control over the Nemesis system’s patent in 2021. This means other games cannot use it without Warner Bros. permission. It was intended for Wonder Woman, but the exact implementation will never be seen.
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I wish it was real!
Monolith Productions may be gone, but Warner Bros. will keep the Nemesis patent until it expires. However, it will likely be renewed, barring any significant opposition that prevents the firing-happy corporation from holding on to one of gaming’s best ideas.
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