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,

Shadow of Mordor’s Nemesis System was a transformative gimmick that gave the Assassin’s Creed-like game a unique edge. However, with Warner Bros. Games shutting down developer Monolith, this brilliant mechanic will remain locked away for another 11 years.

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.