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General discussionWB shuts down Monolith.(49 posts)(49 posts)
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Posted February 26, 2025
That is a heavy blow. Disney is taking it all - by diversifying their products right down to the smallest of the small franchises, like Monkey Island. Warner Brothers gets cold feet here ... and makes a horrible decision, strategically.

We have had to make some very difficult decisions to structure our development studios and investments around building the best games possible with our key franchises -– Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, DC and Game of Thrones.
Even Disney has begun to understand that superhero movies won't even carry them through this decade.

As much as I love John Lithgow, the Potter fans won't accept him as Dumbledore, and the whole Harry Potter series will fail miserably (it's quite obvious why the author intends to demolish the legends of the former Harry Potter and his friends with a new series).

Winter hath long since come for the Game of Thrones franchise.

And Mortal Combat isn't exactly mass compatible.
Post edited February 26, 2025 by Vainamoinen
Posted February 26, 2025
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Vainamoinen: Even Disney has begun to understand that superhero movies won't even carry them through this decade.

As much as I love John Lithgow, the Potter fans won't accept him as Dumbledore, and the whole Harry Potter series will fail miserably (it's quite obvious why the author intends to demolish the legends of the former Harry Potter and his friends with a new series).

Winter hath long since come for the Game of Thrones franchise.

And Mortal Combat isn't exactly mass compatible.
You do realise they are talking about games, right? Not movies or tv.
Post edited February 26, 2025 by Breja
Posted February 26, 2025
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Breja: You do realise they are talking about games, right? Not movies or tv.
They're focusing on games for franchises that they think they can still promote heavily – through movies and TV series.

So, yes, they are talking about games here. The success of which is contingent on the popularity of their cinematic endeavours.
Posted February 26, 2025
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Breja: You do realise they are talking about games, right? Not movies or tv.
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Vainamoinen: They're focusing on games for franchises that they think they can still promote heavily – through movies and TV series.

So, yes, they are talking about games here. The success of which is contingent on the popularity of their cinematic endeavours.
I really don't think the popularity of the Mortal Kombat games was ever reliant on the movies.

And Hogwarts Legacy sold super well, so unless they go all in on adapting the new tv series version I imagine the show will have little impact either way on how the next game does.

The Arkham games weren't tied to any movies, so DC games don't need to rely on the films. If they do, that's WB shooting their own foot... which, in fairness, they are likely to do.
Posted February 26, 2025
I wonder if the Monolith games will be delisted from GOG catalog ?

Edit : GOG's Facebook page just announced that Fear Platinum will be part of the GOG Preservation Program.

"F.E.A.R. Platinum – featuring the base game and both expansions – will be available as part of the GOG Preservation Program by next month. Originally scheduled for a later timeframe, we’ve decided to accelerate this release to properly recognize Monolith’s contributions to gaming.

At GOG, we believe in celebrating the creative minds that have shaped gaming history. Monolith Productions has given players some of the most unforgettable experiences, blending groundbreaking gameplay with rich storytelling. To honor their legacy, we’re proud to announce that F.E.A.R. Platinum will be joining the GOG Preservation Program – and sooner than planned, with other Monolith icons to join eventually as well.

And this is just the beginning. Stay tuned, because tomorrow, we have even more news to share about the GOG Preservation Program !"
Post edited February 26, 2025 by MaxFulvus
Posted February 26, 2025
Sad since Monolith games like F.E.A.R and Shadow of War had the best AI in gaming. Their last game Shadow of War was both a commercial success and a critical success. Why shut down Monolith?

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MaxFulvus: I wonder if the Monolith games will be delisted from GOG catalog ?

Edit : GOG's Facebook page just announced that Fear Platinum will be part of the GOG Preservation Program.

"F.E.A.R. Platinum – featuring the base game and both expansions – will be available as part of the GOG Preservation Program by next month. Originally scheduled for a later timeframe, we’ve decided to accelerate this release to properly recognize Monolith’s contributions to gaming.

At GOG, we believe in celebrating the creative minds that have shaped gaming history. Monolith Productions has given players some of the most unforgettable experiences, blending groundbreaking gameplay with rich storytelling. To honor their legacy, we’re proud to announce that F.E.A.R. Platinum will be joining the GOG Preservation Program – and sooner than planned, with other Monolith icons to join eventually as well.

And this is just the beginning. Stay tuned, because tomorrow, we have even more news to share about the GOG Preservation Program !"
Will the still active SecuROM in the expansions finally be removed in the GOG version of F.E.A.R? And will we finally get No One Lives Forever? :)
Posted February 26, 2025
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ClassicGamer592: Sad since Monolith games like F.E.A.R and Shadow of War had the best AI in gaming. Their last game Shadow of War was both a commercial success and a critical success. Why shut down Monolith?

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MaxFulvus: I wonder if the Monolith games will be delisted from GOG catalog ?

Edit : GOG's Facebook page just announced that Fear Platinum will be part of the GOG Preservation Program.

"F.E.A.R. Platinum – featuring the base game and both expansions – will be available as part of the GOG Preservation Program by next month. Originally scheduled for a later timeframe, we’ve decided to accelerate this release to properly recognize Monolith’s contributions to gaming.

At GOG, we believe in celebrating the creative minds that have shaped gaming history. Monolith Productions has given players some of the most unforgettable experiences, blending groundbreaking gameplay with rich storytelling. To honor their legacy, we’re proud to announce that F.E.A.R. Platinum will be joining the GOG Preservation Program – and sooner than planned, with other Monolith icons to join eventually as well.

And this is just the beginning. Stay tuned, because tomorrow, we have even more news to share about the GOG Preservation Program !"
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ClassicGamer592: Will the still active SecuROM in the expansions finally be removed in the GOG version of F.E.A.R? And will we finally get No One Lives Forever? :)
Is it still active? Because I installed Fear this year. Nothing from SecuROM was active or on my PC. From what I read in forms it's deactivated, just not removed.

Just curious because I'm not seeing it.
Post edited February 26, 2025 by Syphon72
Posted February 26, 2025
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argamasa: Monolith closed, that hurts. It's gone the creators of NOLF and FEAR.
The original devs have long since left Monolith tho, as it usually happens,most of these "old" companies had entirely different people working on them today
Posted February 26, 2025
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MaxFulvus: I wonder if the Monolith games will be delisted from GOG catalog ?

Edit : GOG's Facebook page just announced that Fear Platinum will be part of the GOG Preservation Program.

"F.E.A.R. Platinum – featuring the base game and both expansions – will be available as part of the GOG Preservation Program by next month. Originally scheduled for a later timeframe, we’ve decided to accelerate this release to properly recognize Monolith’s contributions to gaming.

At GOG, we believe in celebrating the creative minds that have shaped gaming history. Monolith Productions has given players some of the most unforgettable experiences, blending groundbreaking gameplay with rich storytelling. To honor their legacy, we’re proud to announce that F.E.A.R. Platinum will be joining the GOG Preservation Program – and sooner than planned, with other Monolith icons to join eventually as well.

And this is just the beginning. Stay tuned, because tomorrow, we have even more news to share about the GOG Preservation Program !"
...with other Monolith icons to join eventually as well.

I wish this was suggesting Get Medieval, Gruntz, Sanity: Aiken's Artifact, Claw or even NOLF 1&2, Contract Jack, Aliens vs Predator 2, and Condemned getting a re-release but it's probably just Monolith's other already listed games on GOG - besides F.E.A.R. - being added to the preservation program.

Of course I'd wouldn't mind to be proven wrong tomorrow.
Posted February 26, 2025
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ClassicGamer592: Sad since Monolith games like F.E.A.R and Shadow of War had the best AI in gaming. Their last game Shadow of War was both a commercial success and a critical success. Why shut down Monolith?

Will the still active SecuROM in the expansions finally be removed in the GOG version of F.E.A.R? And will we finally get No One Lives Forever? :)
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Syphon72: Is it still active? Because I installed Fear this year. Nothing from SecuROM was active or on my PC. From what I read in forms it's deactivated, just not removed.

Just curious because I'm not seeing it.
As far as I understand, it can only become active if you already have something else installed that has working SecuROM, or install such a thing later. "Dormant" would probably be a better word to describe it, in this case.
Come to think of it, I seem to remember something about even the dormant DRM elements only being installed in the first place if you play one of the two expansions included with Platinum (I forget which), or try to start the (non-functional) multiplayer mode from the main game. But I don't remember the details exactly.
At any rate, it's something to be aware of, but -- given that SecuROM doesn't seem to have been relevant for new games in at least a decade -- probably not something to be too worried about, unless one is heedlessly installing games using old, 3rd-party DRM software schemes with regularity, for some reason.
Posted February 26, 2025
Somehow this news left me cold even though they made a couple of my favorite games in the genre, but that was 20 or more years ago. In fact, if somebody told me they closed down few years ago I wouldn't even be surprised.
I wonder how many people who worked on F.E.A.R., NOLF, Shogo, AvP2, etc. were still on board.
Post edited February 26, 2025 by ssling
Posted February 26, 2025
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Syphon72: Is it still active? Because I installed Fear this year. Nothing from SecuROM was active or on my PC. From what I read in forms it's deactivated, just not removed.

Just curious because I'm not seeing it.
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HunchBluntley: As far as I understand, it can only become active if you already have something else installed that has working SecuROM, or install such a thing later. "Dormant" would probably be a better word to describe it, in this case.
Come to think of it, I seem to remember something about even the dormant DRM elements only being installed in the first place if you play one of the two expansions included with Platinum (I forget which), or try to start the (non-functional) multiplayer mode from the main game. But I don't remember the details exactly.
At any rate, it's something to be aware of, but -- given that SecuROM doesn't seem to have been relevant for new games in at least a decade -- probably not something to be too worried about, unless one is heedlessly installing games using old, 3rd-party DRM software schemes with regularity, for some reason.
I appreciate you going into more detail. This explains lot as why I probably why I never can in contact with it.
Posted February 26, 2025
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ssling: I wonder how many people who worked on F.E.A.R., NOLF, Shogo, AvP2, etc. were still on board.
Very few, if any if I had to guess. As is the case with pretty much any formerly big name studio. But a lot of people simply care about the name and not the people/talent actually in them.

EDIT:
Seems WB dodged a bullet, especially in the writers department. Here is a part of the Side Scrollers podcast, where they go over what was the Monolith writers' team before they got axed:

https://www.youtube.com/live/cs1ODSJFVLU?si=T940S4GflRohGN-5&t=6446

The perfect 10 second summation from Arch at 1:48:29-1:48:39
Post edited February 27, 2025 by idbeholdME
Posted February 26, 2025
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Breja: I really don't think the popularity of the Mortal Kombat games was ever reliant on the movies.
I do believe the opposite is true; the MK films were reliant on the game franchise popularity for the majority of its viewership.
Posted February 27, 2025
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Braggadar: I do believe the opposite is true; the MK films were reliant on the game franchise popularity for the majority of its viewership.
Most definitely, I was a kid in the 90s and Mortal Kombat was huge back then. There were machines everywhere. Pizzerias, ice cream parlors, bowling alleys, mini golf courses, movie theaters, you name it. Easily the most popular fighting game after Street Fighter 2.
I saw the Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat movies, but there was a lot more stigma about violent video games back then, so a lot parents wouldn't let their kids rent those tapes, let alone see the movies in the theater. But everybody played the games because the machines were all over the place. Even kids who weren't allowed to own consoles had played those games on some arcade machine.
It was a cultural phenomenon. Nothing in modern gaming really compares to it.
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General discussionWB shuts down Monolith.(49 posts)(49 posts)
(49 posts)