It’s a sad day for fans who were waiting for the return ofAnthemasAnthem 2.0because the project has now been scrapped entirely. Though there was a lot of heart and potential forAnthem 2.0, there were too many odds against it rather than for it. The Covid-19 pandemic took a hit on all video game developers, something Christian Dailey mentioned on the BioWare Blog as a big factor in the progress ofAnthem 2.0’s development. These weren’t the only odds stacked againstAnthem’s revamp, though.
Anthem 2.0was a big project with a small team and working conditions that were less than ideal (i.e. working from home). It was taking the groundwork laid out byAnthemand changing it based on player feedback, as well as what was supposed to be the best route for the game. The work being done seemed promising, especially because of the BioWare Blog updates that would show insight into what was being changed, but it was clearAnthem 2.0was heading to be shutteredonce Christian Dailey left the team to work onDragon Age 4.
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BioWare’s Team-Swapping Development History
Having one team shut down to join another in production of a different game is nothing new for BioWare. Things of this caliber have happened with the initial development ofAnthemandMass Effect: Andromeda, which at times led to some major creative clashes and no clear route that the game development was supposed to follow.Mass Effect: Andromedadefinitely fell prey to this, with lead writers, editors, and crucial members of the team all leaving during its ongoing production. This creative instability is probably partially what led to the game being so poorly received by critics and fans.
Anthem’s initial development was also rife with problems, as evidenced with the release of the game, but the inconsistent leadership led to a pitfall during development. After Casey Hudson initially left BioWare,Anthem’s development began to flounder, leading toDragon Agewriter David Gaider joining the team and taking the game in a different direction.The goal ofAnthemwas to distance itselffrom other BioWare games likeMass EffectandDragon Age, but Gaider wanted to create a game closer to those. Eventually, Gaider left and production resumed for whatAnthemwas supposed to be initially, but that definitely set back the team in terms of time and energy.
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Out With Anthem, In With Dragon Age 4
It’s sad to see such a beautifully rendered game fall to the wayside, but in this day and age graphics alone don’t cut it anymore. Gameplay needs to be there for a game to truly succeed, andAnthemdidn’t have it upon release.Anthem 2.0would have been fun to experienceand see the hard work that was put into the revamp, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Though things are over forAnthem, it doesn’t mean the future of BioWare is dull. In fact, it actually looks really bright.
BioWare has not onlyDragon Age 4to work on, but newMass Effecttitles as well. The studio is still busy with work, it’s just set its sights on other projects in lieu ofAnthem 2.0. This makes sense, especially becauseChristian Dailey left the team to work onDragon Age 4. In the grand scheme of things,Dragon AgeandMass Effecthave more established fanbases, so it makes sense to redistribute the team to bigger, more pressing projects.
There’s also something to be said for how far alongDragon Age 4’s development might be. A lot of information isn’t available regarding it, but it’s possible that theAnthemteam will fit right in to the development process, or it could be like theAndromedasituation where new teammates inadvertently throw wrenches into the development process. There’s also no way to say for sure that this will bethe last time theAnthemteam migratesto a new project, especially given BioWare’s past. Either way, only time will tell what happens with BioWare andDragon Age 4’s development.
