Anthem (PC, PS4, Xbox One) was launched in February 2019, with the eyes of the gaming world on the shooter featuring the cool exosuits. What is the mood like now, at the end of 2019, and what can players still expect?
This is how the launch of Anthem went: The game launched with much fanfare in February 2019 and was the subject of controversy:
- Many found Anthem lacking in content and story, but the gameplay appeared interesting and was quite enjoyable.
- The discussion about technical issues took up a lot of space – at one point, it was even said that Anthem would destroy the PS4, but that turned out to be nonsense.
- In any case, Anthem suffered under the “burden” of BioWare – many players expected a story-driven and more complex game than Anthem actually was. BioWare fans could not relate to the “live-service” approach.
- However, the game’s “MMO systems” regarding loot and progression showed severe weaknesses. This made the game unsuitable for MMO fans as well.
- Though the world and the idea of flying around in an exosuit appealed to some – the substance for a good game was recognizable and palpable if one wanted it.
After a turbulent initial phase lasting about 6 weeks, the situation around Anthem calmed down. Unfortunately, it became not just quiet, but utterly silent.
The further development of the game as a “service title” did not function at all, existing plans were scrapped, and communication from the developers was reduced to a minimum.
Interest in Anthem quickly declines
How has interest in Anthem developed in Germany? Google Trends (via google trends) shows how general interest in the title has developed. The highest value “100%” is reached for almost every game at launch:
- Interest in Anthem only remained at a “fairly good value” for about 4 weeks at a quarter of the launch interest.
- By April, it had dropped to 10% of the launch interest.
- Since June 2019, Anthem has reached the valley, with interest remaining at only 5%.
- From this valley, Anthem could not recover in the long term and even declined further.
Since the summer of 2019, interest in Anthem in Germany has collapsed. For months, it has been clear that nothing significant can be expected in 2019.
In recent financial reports from EA, Anthem is only mentioned in passing.
Radio silence, but you hear they are working in the workshop
This is what is happening at the moment: The development team has virtually locked itself in with the shooter, and hardly anything is leaking out. It was said that a major overhaul is planned. However, nobody took this seriously until an insider report stated: It is true, BioWare is currently fundamentally revamping Anthem and wants to improve gameplay systems:
- However, Anthem has seen hardly any updates for about half a year (aside from some events).
- The leading figures at BioWare who presented Anthem to the public are now all gone.
- There is no roadmap or concrete timeline for when and how Anthem will be improved.
In reality, Anthem is no longer a relevant game; it feels more like a game from the past.
Light at the end of the tunnel
This is the way forward: No one knows. There are no timelines for when anything will come and what will come.
However, there is little excitement around Anthem; expectations are completely low, and most have already moved on from the title.
Many bought Anthem back then and are now waiting to see if anything will still happen: Everything that comes now would be a “pleasant surprise.”
People generally agree that the “skeleton structure” for a good game is there. The gameplay, the ideas with the exosuits – everything is present in the game and interesting.
Anthem needs now
- more content
- a better loot system
- a better progression for players achieved through varied content, not by running through the same content repeatedly
Many of these things could probably be addressed with system changes. Whether they can actually achieve that in 2020 will be the big question.
How they plan to finance this is still open. Essentially, for BioWare and Anthem, it is now about making “reparation” to justify the purchase price.
At the moment, Anthem has essentially lost everything and can only gain from here on.
