‘This is going to be a longer process’
BioWare and Electronic Arts are trying to fix Anthem. This stab at capturing some of that Destinymagic immediately fell flat in 2019, as player counts and general interest quickly dwindled. In February, just a few weeks before Anthem‘s one-year anniversary, BioWare revealed that it’s overhauling the game in pursuit of a “reinvention” that will hopefully introduce a more motivating gameplay loop.
It’s encouraging that BioWare hasn’t given up entirely, but Anthem‘s mulligan isn’t the all-hands-on-deck venture it might seem. In the interest of managing expectations, Anthemlead fixer Christian Dailey posted an update where he mentions that there are only 30-some people working on Anthem‘s new direction.
“We are a small team — about 30-ish, earning our way forward as we set out to hit our first major milestone goals,” Dailey says. “Spoiler: this is going to be a longer process. And yes, the team is small but the whole point of this is to take our time and go back to the drawing board. And a small team gives us the agility a larger one can’t afford.”
EA hasn’t yet cut its losses, but it’s certainly not doubling down on Anthem. Maybe it can be salvaged, maybe it can’t. Regardless, it seems like EA isn’t willing to commit a boatload of resources to the overhaul — which, if we’re being honest, is probably the prudent decision. Dailey’s humble team may be able to fix Anthem, but it sounds like we won’t see the fruits of their labor for a long time.
May Anthem Update [BioWare]