In a shocking and unannounced development, a TRUSTED Smash JT Insider has informed me directly that Monolith Productions, the Warner Bros.-owned studio behind the Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War games, has officially been shut down.
According to my source within WB Games corporate, Monolith closed its doors just an hour ago today as of writing, Feb 25, 2025, marking the abrupt end of the studio’s operations located in Kirkland, WA. This closure comes as a completely devastating blow to anyone who may have been eagerly awaiting their next project—a Wonder Woman game that was reportedly in development using the studio’s groundbreaking Nemesis System.
NOTE: As with everything I report on, take it as a RUMOR until official confirmation by the studio themselves....
Wonder Woman Wasn’t Coming Together
Monolith had been working on the Wonder Woman game for years, with plans to incorporate the Nemesis System, which many of you may recall made the Shadow of Mordor/War games so awesome. Announced back in 2021 as in development - nothing was working out. The development had been struggling for a long time, and the project just wasn’t coming together at all in a way that satisfied Warner Bros enough to justify continuing production.
With the superhero game market already in a rough spot—especially after the disastrous launch of games like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League—it seems WB was unwilling to take the risk on another troubled project.
A Legendary Studio Lost
Founded in 1994, Monolith was at one point a major player in the industry, responsible for FEAR, Condemned: Criminal Origins, Gotham City Impostors, and the beloved Middle-earth series (some of my favs right there). Their Nemesis System was a revolutionary innovation in gaming, but unfortunately, its potential was never fully realized outside of their two Middle-earth titles.
Despite being a WB subsidiary, Monolith had retained a level of independence in crafting a bunch of unique, engaging single-player experiences—something that had become increasingly rare in modern gaming.
WB’s Troubles Keep Piling Up
Monolith’s sudden closure raises serious concerns about Warner Bros. Interactive’s current situation. WB Games has been struggling, with underwhelming performances (to put it nicely) from Suicide Squad and Gotham Knights, and now they’ve axed a studio working on what could have been a major single-player success.
Is WB abandoning the idea of big-budget single-player superhero games in favor of live-service models? Given how poorly those have performed as of late for them, this could be yet another example of mismanagement and corporate short-sightedness.
As of now, there's been no official announcement from Warner Bros. regarding Monolith’s shutdown. But given my inside source's credibility, expect confirmation soon.
This is a huge loss for the gaming industry, and for fans who were hoping that Wonder Woman would finally get the high-quality game she deserves.
~Smash
ZERO interest in Wonder Woman but MAN was the first Condemned game swish. Think it was my first (or one of the first) titles for the Xbox 360.
I'm not sure how something like the nemesis system would even work in a narrative driven game like wonder women anyway. The nemesis system only really works in an environment where there are lots of no name enemies like a war. I mean, just imagine trying to implement the nemesis system in one of the uncharted games.
Also I doubt anybody is lamenting the Wonder Woman game – it was going to be feminist cringe.
Awesome. Fewer woke games filled with microtransactions. Hopefully Netherrealm and Rocksteady are next.