EA’s shooter hope Anthem (PS4, Xbox One, PC) was probably already playable over Christmas, at least for some developers. Many observers expect that the MMO shooter will be postponed again and will not meet its release in autumn 2018.
Bioware is developing the MMO shooter Anthem for Electronic Arts. The game is supposed to release on PS4, Xbox One, and PC this autumn. However, since the game was presented to a broad audience at E3 2017, little has been heard about the 3rd person shooter. Apart from the gameplay presentation shown back then, hardly any new information has surfaced.
Many observers doubt an 2018 release of Anthem
Furthermore, such gigantic MMO projects are traditionally postponed at least once: Destiny and The Division faced similar fates.
It seems to be the norm to let a release slip at least once, then say: “We need more time to make it really good. The game and you fans deserve it.”
Many observers believe: “Anthem will never be able to hit the release window in autumn 2018.” They expect that Anthem will eventually be postponed to the next year.
This is still not excluded, but to be fair: The current signals from Bioware speak a different language.
Developers talk about Christmas build of Anthem
The developers are sharing insights in the Reddit community about Anthem. The Technical Design Director, Brenon Homes, explains that the studio was on Christmas holiday for a week longer. Only last Monday did the people gradually come back to the studio.
Now they have to shake off the rust. Now is a good opportunity to play the Christmas build again with fresh eyes. It is a big build that the team could already play over Christmas.
Overall, the mood in the Anthem team seems to be quite good. They are posting photos from a “Milestone Review” event on Twitter.
It is known from EA that they regularly have the development teams come in to check whether everything is on schedule and if the development milestones are being met. The teams must pass certain “gates”.
It is stated: They would like to share what they have shown, but fans will have to wait a bit longer.
When will new information about Anthem come?
Furthermore, the team denies rumors that they would use the “Pay2Win” matchmaking for which EA has registered a patent. They want nothing to do with that.
New information about Anthem should probably still be expected at E3 2018. They are giving a cryptic response. When asked if new information could be expected in spring or summer, they replied with a “Yes.”
Is Anthem planning a short and intense promo phase?
Mein MMO states: Many fans say: I will only believe that Anthem will be released in 2018 when I have it in hand. But it might not be so unlikely that Anthem actually releases this year, and that they start the intense promotion phase for Anthem from summer and at E3 2018.
Then they would still have a few months to build up the hype. Unlike games like Destiny or The Division, EA does not need to explain the concept of such a game to anyone anymore.
A similar approach to the short, intense promo phase is being pursued by Red Dead Redemption 2, and it seems to be working quite well. There is still no information about that game, but that doesn’t diminish the anticipation.
Or: It could soon be announced that Anthem deserves more time, and the release will indeed be in 2019.
What do you think?
More about Anthem:
Anthem – The new game from BioWare: Here is all the information for you
