20 Years Ago, The Matrix Got an Entirely New Ending That Many People Missed

20 years ago today, the Wachowskis gave The Matrix trilogy a wildly different ending than the movies. The Matrix: The Path of Neo was developed by Shiny Entertainment, placing players into the role of Neo. Taking inspiration from the trilogy of films, the game recreated some of the biggest moments from The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, and The Matrix Revolutions. Although it was better received than Enter the Matrix, the game still had a mixed reception from critics.

What makes the game so fascinating two decades after it debuted is the surprising way it serves as a coda to the Matrix trilogy. Working with Shiny Entertainment, Matrix creators the Wachowskis, wanted to end the game on a more upbeat and action-packed note than their more meditative and bittersweet finale in the films. The result is one of the most memorably bizarre endings in gaming history, which also serves as a sweet opportunity for the filmmakers to reflect on their creation and poke fun at themselves.

How The Path Of Neo Rewrote The Ending Of Matrix Revolutions

The Matrix: The Path of Neo has an incredibly and purposefully strange ending that completely changes the final confrontation of the original films. In The Matrix Revolutions, Neo eventually makes his way back into the Matrix to confront Agent Smith. After discovering everyone else in the digital world is overwritten by the villain, Neo faces off with Smith in a tough battle.

In the end, though, Neo allows himself to be converted into a Smith as well — which allows him to overwhelm the villain from the inside, destroying Agent Smith and restoring everyone else in the Matrix. It’s an emotionally satisfying ending for the film trilogy, albeit one that left a lot of viewers frustrated and confused. It’s the culmination of Neo’s self-sacrificing messianic arc, and it works fine in the film.

However, The Path of Neo went a different route. In the lead-up to Neo and Smith’s final battle, Neo has an edge in the video game’s version of their fateful duel. At that point, the armies of Smith clones who have been watching the battle combine with the surrounding city to create a towering version of Agent Smith dubbed MegaSmith. Neo carries on the battle, taking to the skies and setting up the final boss fight of the game.

Doing enough damage to the giant Agent Smith causes the construct to eventually overload with energy and explode, seemingly killing the villain once and for all. Notably, this ending leaves the fate of Neo somewhat ambiguous — and it acknowledges the bizarre touches of the title by cutting to the victorious citizens of the city of Zion celebrating to the sounds of Queen’s “We Are The Champions.” Seriously.

Why The Wachowskis Changed The Ending Of The Matrix Trilogy

Notably, this decision wasn’t one that the developers came up with on their own. During an oral history about The Matrix video games with Polygon, the creatives behind Shiny Entertainment revealed that the Wachowskis worked hand-in-hand with the team to fully develop the story mode for Path of Neo, especially the ending. The Wachowskis agreed with Shiny Entertainment’s concerns about the ending not being a good way to close out the game.

While it’s a fitting finale for the movie, the game developers felt it would have been anticlimactic to resolve the game on an ambiguous and non-playable note. The Wachowskis eventually came to the developers with the idea for MegaSmith, arguing that it would just be a fun final boss to confront. The developers even briefly reached out to Toho to see about literally turning Smith into Godzilla for the battle, but the studio turned them down.

Even before the final battle begins, the game makes it clear to the player that what’s about to happen is different from what they may have been expecting. The game stops before the final battle so that digital avatars of the Wachowskis, in the form of small Atari-esque graphics, can explain the divergence and why they wanted it in the game. It remains one of the strangest chapters in the history of the franchise, especially in relation to the more standard elements of the game’s adaptation of the trilogy.

It’s also strangely fitting, too, given how much of an influence anime like Ghost in the Shell and Akira had been on The Matrix right from the get-go, to see the series embrace more references to Japanese film and culture. Even if he’s not actually Godzilla, MechaSmith gives off that vibe. It’s a big and bold finale to the game that really needs to be seen to be believed.

This revised ending also let the Wachowskis have their final word on the original trilogy years before The Matrix Resurrections took shape. It allowed the Wachowskis to reflect on the messianic ending they gave their film and highlight its thematic staying power, while just having fun smashing some cool concepts together instead. Honestly, given the self-aware touches of the ending and just happy the Wachowskis seem in their brief cameo poking fun at themselves, video game adaptations of other media should indulge in wild story breaks and changes. If nothing else,