After several attempts since 2015, WB Games has successfully obtained a patent on the nemesis system featured in it. Shadow of Mordor and its sequence, The shadow of War. The patent takes effect later this month.
As reported by IGN, on February 3, the U.S. Office of Trade Marks and Signals released send a message confirms that WB Games ’approval of the system has been approved and that it would officially take effect on February 23, 2021.
(That case-link link did not work at the time of publication.)
The nemesis system first appeared in 2014-open-world-stab-athon Shadow of Mordor, and would be greatly expanded in the 2017 series The shadow of War. The Nemesis System uses randomly generated orcs to capture the world. Players then attack these orcs, sometimes killing them, taking control of them, or even losing them. As these events occur the orcs react, become more powerful, acquire new abilities, and refer directly to past experiences with the player. It’s a cool system. And soon, only one publisher, WB Games, will be able to use it.
Once the patent is active, other developers or publishers who want to use the Nemesis System will have to cut a contract with WB Games or go to trial.
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From 2015, shortly after the release of Shadow of Mordor, WB Games has tried and failed to obtain this patent. Previous issues included a lack of distinctiveness, which is very important in a patent, and conflict with other existing patents.
WB Games will be able to hold this patent until 2035, assuming they keep all the orcs in legal and financial order.
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