The first part of the preparation of the failure of Anthem has reopened an old wound for some fans. According to chief developer Mark Darrah, there are still options to make the BioWare flop a fun game.
Why is Anthem being discussed again? Mark Darrah, who took over the project lead for Anthem in 2017, sheds light on the exciting backstory of the BioWare game in a multi-part video series.
Part 1 was about the start of development and the first years, which according to Darrah were marked by destructive secrecy, a search for identity, and a lack of leadership. Even the initial plans for the Javelin classes caused internal issues.
The dream of a second chance
How are fans reacting to the insider information? Many comments during the stream or under the video on YouTube emphasize that despite its problems, Anthem still has a strong foundation and a lot of potential.
Diverse players believe that Anthem would have been a much better game with a different direction. Closed Down Channel mentioned during the stream: “I really wish it had been a single-player game. I believe it could have become a success and established a new BioWare IP alongside Dragon Age and Mass Effect.”
Interestingly, the response from the chief developer himself suggests that this wish could still be realized today: “If EA wanted to, we could extract a single-player game from Anthem.” In another response on YouTube, he explains: “It’s very hard to play [the current version of Anthem] alone; the shield enemies are a huge pain without help.”
In another comment, viewer James Rockguy Hein states: “I remember playing this last year with friends. While the gameplay loop wasn’t great, we had a lot of fun together.”
Here too, Mark Darrah quickly responded with something that might spark the fans’ imagination: “The parts could also be made into a co-op game.” Anthem as a functioning co-op game? Our editor-in-chief Leya Jankowski loves this idea: “That would just be incredibly cool.”
How realistic is that? Unfortunately, not at all. A fundamental problem is pointed out by Mark Darrah in the comments on YouTube: “EA has trouble supporting things that aren’t immediately successful.”
Even more seriously, the servers for Anthem are set to go offline permanently on January 12, 2026. EA officials would have to completely change their current course for the dream of a single-player or co-op Anthem to come true. A few videos from Mark Darrah are unlikely to achieve that.
Would you be interested in an Anthem remake with a focus on single-player and co-op? By the way, there’s another former BioWare lead, Ben Irving, who would love to see Anthem get a second chance. You can find out more about it here: A former boss of the SF MMO Anthem says: “I would love to redo it”
