It’s a sad day for fans who were waiting for the return of Anthem as Anthem 2.0 because the project has now been scrapped entirely. Though there was a lot of heart and potential for Anthem 2.0, there were too many odds against it rather than for it. The Covid-19 pandemic took a hit on all video game developers, something Christian Dailey mentioned on the BioWare Blog as a big factor in the progress of Anthem 2.0’s development. These weren’t the only odds stacked against Anthem’s revamp, though.
Anthem 2.0 was a big project with a small team and working conditions that were less than ideal (i.e. working from home). It was taking the groundwork laid out by Anthem and changing it based on player feedback, as well as what was supposed to be the best route for the game. The work being done seemed promising, especially because of the BioWare Blog updates that would show insight into what was being changed, but it was clear Anthem 2.0 was heading to be shuttered once Christian Dailey left the team to work on Dragon Age 4.
Having one team shut down to join another in production of a different game is nothing new for BioWare. Things of this caliber have happened with the initial development of Anthem and Mass Effect: Andromeda, which at times led to some major creative clashes and no clear route that the game development was supposed to follow. Mass Effect: Andromeda definitely fell prey to this, with lead writers, editors, and crucial members of the team all leaving during its ongoing production. This creative instability is probably partially what led to the game being so poorly received by critics and fans.
Anthem’s initial development was also rife with problems, as evidenced with the release of the game, but the inconsistent leadership led to a pitfall during development. After Casey Hudson initially left BioWare, Anthem’s development began to flounder, leading to Dragon Age writer David Gaider joining the team and taking the game in a different direction. The goal of Anthem was to distance itself from other BioWare games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age, but Gaider wanted to create a game closer to those. Eventually, Gaider left and production resumed for what Anthem was supposed to be initially, but that definitely set back the team in terms of time and energy.
It’s sad to see such a beautifully rendered game fall to the wayside, but in this day and age graphics alone don’t cut it anymore. Gameplay needs to be there for a game to truly succeed, and Anthem didn’t have it upon release. Anthem 2.0 would have been fun to experience and see the hard work that was put into the revamp, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Though things are over for Anthem, it doesn’t mean the future of BioWare is dull. In fact, it actually looks really bright.
BioWare has not only Dragon Age 4 to work on, but new Mass Effect titles as well. The studio is still busy with work, it’s just set its sights on other projects in lieu of Anthem 2.0. This makes sense, especially because Christian Dailey left the team to work on Dragon Age 4. In the grand scheme of things, Dragon Age and Mass Effect have more established fanbases, so it makes sense to redistribute the team to bigger, more pressing projects.
There’s also something to be said for how far along Dragon Age 4’s development might be. A lot of information isn’t available regarding it, but it’s possible that the Anthem team will fit right in to the development process, or it could be like the Andromeda situation where new teammates inadvertently throw wrenches into the development process. There’s also no way to say for sure that this will be the last time the Anthem team migrates to a new project, especially given BioWare’s past. Either way, only time will tell what happens with BioWare and Dragon Age 4’s development.
Anthem 2.0 was cancelled February 24, 2021.
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