ANTHEM Is Getting A Redesign

February 10, 2020 Ryan Engstrom

Oh Anthem, what an interesting mess of a game you turned out to be… When Anthem was first revealed at E3 2017 it looked fantastic and a shared world shooter/Iron Man simulator we would all want to play. Originally set to launch that same year, the game ended up being delayed until February 2019 where it was met with mixed at best reception. The game had tons of glitches basically no end-game content and the loot system was awful. It didn’t take long for the player base to disappear and the game to wind up in the bargain bin. Reports also surfaced about the working conditions at Bioware that lead to the game's problems. BioWare has continually announced that they would continue to work on the game but the results over the last year have hardly persuaded many players to come back.

Today a new blog post from BioWare General Manager Casey Hudson was posted on the official BioWare Blog. Hudson thanks the team for the game they were able to make but acknowledges that it wasn’t the game people wanted, including BioWare. Hudson also admits that while the team has continued to make updates to the game as it is now isn’t going to fix the problems. Moving forward the game is getting a “redesign” to improve the core mechanics and aspects. A dedicated team is being tasked with the project and given time to ensure it is properly tested and actually works this time around.

Over the last year, the team has worked hard to improve stability, performance and general quality of life while delivering three seasons of new content and features. We have also heard your feedback that Anthem needs a more satisfying loot experience, better long-term progression and a more fulfilling end game. So we recognize that there’s still more fundamental work to be done to bring out the full potential of the experience, and it will require a more substantial reinvention than an update or expansion. Over the coming months we will be focusing on a longer-term redesign of the experience, specifically working to reinvent the core gameplay loop with clear goals, motivating challenges and progression with meaningful rewards – while preserving the fun of flying and fighting in a vast science-fantasy setting. And to do that properly we’ll be doing something we’d like to have done more of the first time around – giving a focused team the time to test and iterate, focusing on gameplay first.

Casey Hudson, General Manager BioWare

No time has been given on what this redesign will look like and whether or not the game is being redone from scratch with new maps or whatnot. No release window or time frame has been given either. I imagine it will be a case of it will be released when it is released which is exactly what the game should have done in the first place… Oh well, it is commendable to see BioWare try to rectify their errors and get a product released that is up to the high standards they used to command in their games. My one question is even if the game is rebuilt from scratch, will gamers come back to play it?

What do you all think of this news on Anthem and the game itself?