So despite all of the problems Anthem has had, it looks like there is some life being breathed back into the struggling project. Even before launch the confusing marketing structure for the game and lackluster gameplay had soured some against it. It certainly didn’t help matters that the game had some pretty severe design oversights on launch that led to many getting literally useless gear. This whole mess combined into a successful launch to some degree, but the long-term health of the game was suspect at best. Now, it appears that BioWare and Electronic Arts are trying their hand at rescuing the project.
There have been plenty of claims that BioWare was either abandoning the game, or continuing work at a steady pace, but there has been relatively little to show for it. The endgame sections of Anthem continue to be pretty barebones, with long-term players having largely abandoned the game. While it’s hard to know exactly what player numbers are as Anthem hasn’t received such numbers for quite a while, the shooter has not been seen on the most-played lists for various platforms since launch. And livestream viewers for the game are all but non-existent.
Being that this is all based on rumors and anonymous sources, take it with a grain of salt, but here goes. According to a new report from Kotaku, EA and BioWare have begun the opening stages of a full redesign and patch process for Anthem. These sources are calling it “Anthem 2.0” or “Anthem Next.” Kotaku’s Jason Schreier goes into more details, saying that the project has been in the works for a while:
“We spent a few months just tearing it down and figuring out what needed to change fundamentally (a lot),” said one person on the project. “And we’ve been rebuilding for another few months since.” The source also hinted at restructuring the way inventory and gear is managed, as well ash how content is played in total. “We’re also looking at breaking up the need to go back to [Fort Tarsis] after every mission,” said the person, “and what a mission technically is. That was always a weird disconnect. [We’re] trying to integrate the disparate parts of the game together.”
It’s hard to say what this means, as the whole project is still in flux. The loss of key staff at the studio hasn’t helped to clarify matters either. BioWare head of live services Chad Robertson had originally planned to lead a revitalization effort saying, “those systems require a more thorough review and re-working versus quick fixes. We’ve got a team working on that now, and early results are promising.” But he has since left the company. Lead producer Ben Irving has also departed the company following the crash-and-burn of the project.
