BioWare has finally spoken up and announced that the action MMO Anthem will undergo a fundamental overhaul. They even speak of a “reinvention.” However, this will take some time. In the meantime, old content will be added to Anthem.
This is what BioWare says: In a blog post on Monday evening, the head of BioWare, Casey Hudson, comments. He reflects on the Anthem released a year ago with mixed feelings:
- on the one hand, they are proud of Anthem and what they have achieved
- on the other hand, there was so much more that both they and the players of Anthem had expected
In 2019, the team worked hard to improve Anthem and brought three new seasons with content and features live. BioWare has listened to the feedback from the players about what Anthem needs.
This is what the overhaul of Anthem aims to achieve
These are the 6 points: BioWare outlines what they want to focus on now to unleash the “full potential” of Anthem.
The three major feedback points that BioWare has understood as a task from the fans:
- the loot needs to be improved and made more satisfying
- bring better long-term gameplay progression to Anthem
- deliver a fulfilling endgame
To achieve this, Anthem wants to:
- revamp the core gameplay loop
- develop motivating challenges and provide gameplay progression with meaningful rewards
- while maintaining the fun of flying and fighting in the sci-fi setting
Hudson says that BioWare’s mission is to create new worlds. Sometimes they succeed, sometimes not. What drives the studio is the support of the players. They look forward to working with the players and their feedback to strive for the best possible future for Anthem.
Rework takes time – until then, there are old contents in Anthem
How long will this take? BioWare says that achieving this requires more than just an expansion or an update.
It requires “fundamental work” to substantially reinvent the game.
It sounds like it will take a while before these changes are visible.
What happens in the meantime? BioWare will continue to work on the current situation of Anthem but will move away from the seasons.
At the end of February, Anthem plans to celebrate a birthday event.
Anthem is to be “kept running” with three measures:
- events will be held
- the store will continue to operate
- and Anthem will revisit the previous seasons and the Cataclysm.
Anthem players now know what comes next, just not when exactly
This is what’s behind it: For a long time, it was unclear how things would proceed with Anthem. Since September 2019, there has been no proper roadmap, nor a clear statement from BioWare about the future of Anthem. In EA’s financial reports, Anthem has not been mentioned at all recently.
The seasonal updates that Hudson talks about were event series for existing players, like the “Icetide” event in winter.
In November, the US site Kotaku reported that BioWare was working on a fundamental overhaul of Anthem, planning an “Anthem Next” or Anthem 2.0. Sources had tipped them off.
This rumor has now been confirmed by Hudson with the announcement. However, there is still no timeline for when this new Anthem will come out.
As Hudson says, it’s not just about an update or an expansion; it sounds like a relaunch.
The problems of Anthem have been highlighted in a special on MeinMMO.
