In January 2019, I was filled with optimism as I travelled to BioWare’s headquarters in Austin, Texas. I had the rare opportunity to test Anthem, the studio’s twist on the live-service looter-shooter game, before its public release. I was immediately captivated by the game’s polished demo; it was exhilarating to navigate levels in my Javelin suit, emulating Iron Man, and blasting bugs with elemental guns. At that point, I fervently believed that Anthem would be a revolutionary game that the future AAA games would strive to replicate. It turns out, many did, even though, retrospectively speaking, they probably shouldn’t have.
BioWare, best known for creating RPG masterpieces like the Mass Effect trilogy, Knights of the Old Republic, and Dragon Age Origins, is a renowned player in the gaming industry. Admittedly, Mass Effect Andromeda, released in 2017, had its share of critics and a fraught development cycle spanning five years. Nonetheless, I held onto the hope that the team at BioWare had drawn lessons from past mistakes.
However, when the demo rolled out to the public weeks later, my high hopes plummeted. Perennial issues such as drawn-out loading screens and glitch-prone flying were prevalent. Furthermore, the game play in Anthem tended to lose its lustre rather quickly, presenting an added challenge to retain players.
Looking back, the game’s technical limitations and lacklustre gameplay were clear indicators of a tumultuous five-year development process, characterized by frequent changes in direction, staff attrition, and several overhauls of the concept. Even with patches released by EA and BioWare in attempts to rectify game-breaking bugs and audio glitches, Anthem remained largely grounded.
Despite Casey Hudson, BioWare’s General Manager, announcing plans for a “substantial reinvention” of Anthem in a 2020 blog post, it was a case of too little, too late. This revelation was followed by an announcement by Christian Dailey, BioWare’s studio director, confirming that the development of Anthem was coming to a permanent halt.
Fast forward to today, Anthem has largely fallen into oblivion, referred to predominantly in humourous references about its once-prospective role as a competitor to Destiny. Although Anthem’s servers remain operational, player statistics remain a mystery.
There’s been a surge in the development of expensive live-service games that, unfortunately, fail to engage a dedicated audience. Every successful game like Fortnite or League of Legends is trailed by innumerable missteps like Space Punks, Crossfire X, and Paragon. Looking back, Anthem appears to be an early indication of the predicament we face now.
Regrettably, such development trends often outpace the lifespan of gaming trends, leading to damaging consequences. This phenomenon was evidenced by the substantial layoffs within the gaming industry in 2024. If one thing’s clear, it’s that the lessons of Anthem have gone largely unnoticed, much to our detriment.
