A major insider report on Anthem highlights the situation of BioWare and its most important remaining project, Anthem. A lot is at stake for the team, and they have some concerns. A release is likely not planned until 2019.
The author Jason Schreier from Kotaku is known for tapping sources in the gaming industry. He speaks to studio employees in confidence and then whispers and murmurs about the status of a current project. The employees want to remain anonymous because they are not authorized to share information.
Development with Difficulties
He has done this with BioWare and their game Anthem. Fans actually expect it in the fall of 2018. Anthem is a sci-fi third-person shooter with MMO elements, leaning towards a loot shooter. Some compare it to Destiny, The Division, or Warframe.
In Schreier’s report we learn that Anthem has been in development since 2012 and that the team is struggling with the Frostbite engine. It was originally designed for the Battlefield games and traditionally poses problems for BioWare’s projects, which tend more towards RPGs.
In 2014 and 2015, Schreier heard: The development of Anthem is not going well – recently the project has gained momentum and the mood has become more positive as more and more BioWare employees join the project and work on its completion.
Release Date of Anthem: Fall 2018 was never realistic – Must be finished by March 2019
The surprising thing: There is almost no information about Anthem itself. In comparable “insider articles”, there were always some nuggets of info about gameplay and direction. This is completely missing in the Anthem report.
However, there is one important piece of information: The official release date of Anthem in fall 2018 was, according to Schreier’s sources, never realistic. The release date is still unclear.
But EA will push for the game to be released by March 2019 at the latest. Then EA’s fiscal year ends, and money must flow to keep investors happy.
You can therefore expect a delay for the release of Anthem, but not a very long one.
Fear of nasty YouTubers, content-hungry fans, and pressure from EA
Otherwise, the article mainly discusses the mood at BioWare.
It lies somewhere between “optimism” and “fear.”
They fear three things in the team:
- BioWare knows how important Anthem is for the company after Mass Effect: Andromeda flopped. If Anthem goes wrong, they fear consequences for the studio from EA
- They are also aware of EA’s reputation after the Battlefront 2 fiasco and believe that well-known YouTubers are sharpening their knives to go after BioWare and Anthem. EA will be especially targeted. BioWare believes they will also take the heat and be portrayed as cold-hearted villains
- BioWare knows how massive the project is and that comparable games like The Division, Diablo, and Destiny initially faced communication and content shortages. They anticipate similar startup difficulties for Anthem. Especially the problems with Destiny 2 and how the community reacted put pressure on the mood at Anthem.
However, Schreier concludes his article on a positive note. BioWare is striving for transparency with fans, answers questions on reddit and what has been seen so far is fantastic. In any case, BioWare is under pressure.
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