Summary
By now, it’s no secret thatWarner Bros.electedto patent the Nemesis Systemthat made theMiddle-Earth duologyso beloved. It’s also no secret that,despite the recent closure of Monolith Productions as part of some sweeping changes, thepatent for the Nemesis System has an adjusted expiration of June 15, 2025, meaning it’ll be a long while before anyone else tries to innovate on it.
However, what isn’t exactly known is just how the famous gameplay experience came to be. As it turns out, according to a former executive, it largely came in response to the second-hand gaming market and retailers like GameStop.
More Players Than Payers Led To The Nemesis System
As first spotted by GamesRadar, former WB executive Laura Fryer shared new details on just how the Nemesis System was developed. In a new retrospective video detailing her time at the corporation, Fryer broke down the factors behind its synthesis.
Specifically, Freyer noted how WB was seeing that more people were playing than paying for Rocksteady’s Arkham Asylum. This meant that players were trading in the game at GameStop or other retailers or buying it from them, leading to lost sales since the publisher only profits off new copies sold.
“How do we create a single-player game that is so compelling that people keep the disc in their library forever?”
Because Monolith’s engine wasn’t capable of a Grand Theft Auto-like open-world experience, and because the team didn’t want to pursue a multiplayer title, the Nemesis System was born out of a need to find an immediate solution, according to Freyer.
“This thinking is what led to the Nemesis System, arguably one of the most creative and coolest game features in recent memory,” Freyer added.
And she’s not wrong; The Nemesis System does indeed stand as one of the coolest game features, allowing players to experience their own stories within the story of a game.It also inspired other games, like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, to try their hand at a similar approach. Unfortunately, the existing patent makes it hard for anyone to innovate on it, and with the way things have gone, we might not see it ever again. Still, it’s a fascinating story about how things came to be.
