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,

As reported by journalist Stephen Totilo, Monolith's Nemesis system patent --which remains the property of Warner Bros.--was filed in 2016, and it won't expire until August 11, 2036. The only way the patent could be officially abandoned beforehand is if Warner Bros. fails to pay the associated fees to keep it active.

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.