Middle-earth's Nemesis System return quietly cancelled right under our noses

An evolved version of the fantastic Nemesis System from the Middle-earth games has been quietly cancelled.

The Nemesis System made its debut in 2014’s Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and then returned in its 2017 sequel, Middle-earth: Shadow of War. It was a mechanic that felt way ahead of its time.

It was a clever dynamic hierarchy system in which you, as Talion, a ranger of Gondor, would kill a procedurally generated Orc, and members of Sauron’s army would be replaced by another just beneath its rank.

This may sound simple, but it made the game feel organic when it came to creating enemies in its world as well as allies of Talion in the sequel.

You can encounter an Orc at the very beginning of the game and think nothing of it, only to encounter it later on, promoted as a leader. The Orcs would also remember you and would make references to previous battles.

The Nemesis System was created by developers under the employment of Warner Bros. Games, and the last time we’d see this mechanic was in Middle-earth: Shadow of War.

Furthermore, Warner Bros. Games had filed a patent with the Nemesis System, meaning that no one can use it without its permission and as of yet, no one has.

What’s more, we were going to reportedly see the Nemesis System return in the new Wonder Woman game, before that was recently cancelled.

However, it seemed like Electronic Arts may have found a way to counter Warner Bros.’ patent of the Nemesis System by creating an “evolved” version of its own called the “Ambitious System” to be implemented in its Marvel’s Black Panther game.

Sadly, as reported by Eurogamer (as per Bloomberg), that was until Electronic Arts cancelled the Black Panther title, which was in development by Cliffhanger Studios.

It’s claimed that in the game, T’Challa, Shuri and Killmonger would all compete to be the Black Panther. The report claims that the player would choose one character to play as, and the two remaining would essentially become rivals, and you could build a relationship with them.

It’s also said that the Skrulls would be one of the main villains in the game, and it’s suggested that these would essentially become the Black Panther game's version of the Orcs from Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War.

Yet, the report states that Cliffhanger Studios struggled to successfully showcase the gameplay mechanics of its Black Panther game, which not only led to the game being cancelled but also to the studio closing.

Hopefully, Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, developed by Skydance New Media, led by Amy Hennig, which features both Black Panther and Captain America, will have better luck when it arrives in 2026.