O Volkslied. The only BioWare game I can not defend. BioWare’s attempt at a Destiny-style online multiplayer game crashed and burned down when it launched in 2019, and the developers then tried to restart and improve it. In May last year, they announced Anthem Next, which sounds like its biggest overhaul yet. But even Next’s future is uncertain. A new report claims that BioWare’s parent company, Electronic Arts, will decide this week whether it’s worth reviving Anthem.
According to Bloomberg, EA will hold a meeting this week to determine the fate of the game. They say EA executives are going to review the latest version of Anthem Next and decide if it’s worth expanding the team, or to dump the project altogether.
Anthem Next’s developer team consists of about 30 people, though Bloomberg’s sources say they ‘at least triple’ the number of developers to properly upgrade the game. They add that Next will make major changes to Anthem’s ‘core systems and user interface’ (which BioWare has already shown a bit), even though they do not know when and if players will see these changes in the current live game.
“Anthem is a sweet place to perform. ‘Ooh, look at that beautiful waterfall, those giant mushroom rock formations.’ “But there are so many frustrations to fight through! So many little annoyances that help you cross when anything happens!” Alice Bee said in her Anthem review. “It needs more than the world map to change a little bit, or to have seasons, or to have a better social interaction. It needs changes to how it works, which is a lot to ask for.”
Just last week, EA said they feel ‘very, very confident’ about the future of BioWare, and we still have to wonder if the future still has room for Anthem – it seems like their verdict speaks volumes about Mass Effect and Dragon Age. For what it’s worth, I’m also wary of the two series of games (mostly Dragon Age, but I’m just looking forward to exploring the new environment).
If you want to be a little more confident in something BioWare publishes, they all took a first look at the Mass Effect trilogy remasters last week. I think they actually look very pretty, lens flared and all. They also create a new Mass Effect that Liara could very well contain.