Our author Schuhmann looks back at 2019. This will be heated with Anthem and The Division 2 right in the spring. Even though many are now waiting for Anthem, The Division 2 could ultimately be the more exciting game at launch, believes our author.
This is the current situation: Two blockbusters have already been announced for spring 2019 that hit a similar note:
- The SF shooter Anthem is set to be released on February 22
- The online shooter The Division 2 will be released on March 15
Both games will bring demos and betas beforehand and are sure to dominate the headlines at the beginning of 2019. But currently, they are still largely unknown titles that hardly anyone has played.
The calm before the storm: It is quiet around both games. Ubisoft and Electronic Arts probably want to let the blockbuster season pass before they really start with the marketing campaigns.
Now in the thunderstorm between Red Dead Redemption 2, Call of Duty, and Battlefield 5, it seems wiser to save the ammunition until the smoke has cleared after Christmas.
It will probably heat up for both games in January.
Anthem and the allure of the new
Much interest in Anthem: I have been observing strong interest in Anthem among our readers for months. Just through Facebook, new bits of information and the trailers for Anthem receive numerous likes and comments.
We are also increasingly being asked to report more on Anthem.
There is a feeling among the readers: There must be more information that nobody has revealed to us yet. For some, there is a great need to start discussing Anthem in depth right now.
The look of the trailers with gigantic monsters and the combat suits seems to appeal to many, even if they haven’t had the chance to actually play Anthem yet.
That’s why many are excited about Anthem: Anthem promises to combine the fast coop action of Destiny with the narrative depth of BioWare titles. Additionally, it offers a new, alien world.
Anthem radiates the allure of something new. It promises a fresh start. Anthem is a “fresh brand,” a new world.
Players have no concrete ideas of what to expect in Anthem, so Anthem is ideally suited to project their own desires onto the game.
It offers a blank canvas to envision the perfect game.
The Division 2 – the familiar quantity
The Division 2 is quite reserved: In contrast, many feel like they already know “The Division 2” somehow.
So far, only isolated and specific changes compared to The Division 1 have been noticeable. The Division 2 feels like the first game but with a new setting and only a few fresh ideas.
The interest in discussing The Division 2 seems surprisingly low. It feels like they already know everything and just have to wait until it actually starts.
The Division 2 does not offer a blank canvas like Anthem; instead, most people see The Division 1 in summer and in Washington.
However, there is still little known about The Division 2 in detail. And it is ultimately the details regarding progression mechanics, reward systems, and gameplay that determine how successful such an online shooter is.
It is already quite clear how Anthem will fare
The launch phase of Anthem seems clear already: Even though Anthem radiates the allure of the new, I currently feel like I can already see the news from February before my eyes.
Anthem will go through a rough release phase, just like all games of this magnitude before. Just like Destiny, The Division, The Elder Scrolls Online, WildStar, Fallout 76 now, or any other game where a studio transitions from a “normal game” to a “games-as-a-service”.
Every studio, no matter how many veterans it has, ultimately complains about being surprised by the transition and finding it much harder than initially thought to have a “live game” now and handle the new challenges.
From insider reports from the studio, it has already been heard how great the pressure on BioWare is and how much respect they have for the huge expectations of the fans.
Most online games do not resemble the game that fans actually hoped for at launch until a year after the release.
I think it will be the same with Anthem.
This will happen with Anthem:
- Bugs, server problems, and lags will occur.
- Players will complain about too little content.
- The illusions that many had before will crumble because the “blank canvas” is no longer there.
That is not something bad or catastrophic. It is simply normality. It is part of the development cycle that every new online game and every new brand must go through.
The exciting thing about Anthem: How BioWare behaves after the first few weeks will be the exciting part and will determine whether Anthem has a great future ahead like The Elder Scrolls Online or whether it fades like WildStar. They are shutting down the servers in these weeks.
The interesting phase for Anthem will probably start only a few weeks after the launch, when it becomes clear how BioWare will handle the inevitable problems.
The Division with the more exciting launch phase
But how will it be with The Division 2? In contrast, the team from Massive has already gone through this process with the first part.
The exciting question here is whether The Division 2 can skip this difficult phase at launch and feel like a polished and well-crafted game right away – or whether they will have to go through the cycle a second time.
In contrast, Bungie did not manage to learn from the issues of the first part with Destiny 2, but Destiny 2 took many steps back compared to its predecessor. Bungie had to go through this tough “release cycle” a second time – with all the painful problems it entails.
If The Division 2 avoids these mistakes and picks up where The Division left off, it could become the winner of spring 2019.
While The Division 2 does not carry the allure of the new like Anthem, players could be pleasantly surprised here.
The Division 1 was a much better game almost 2 years after the launch than it was at release. If The Division 2 continues along this path, something really good could arise.
And ultimately, it would be possible that Borderlands 3 expands the duel into a triad.
Reading tip: We have now published a comprehensive article that also includes initial gameplay experiences:
