ANTHEM Will Focus On Storytelling After The Failure of MASS EFFECT ANDROMEDA

BioWare’s upcoming title, Anthem, has received a lukewarm response from the gaming community. On one hand, players are excited about the concept of the game, and the world that it is going to explore. However, on the other, players are wary of trusting BioWare again after the controversy that plagued Mass Effect: Andromeda. In a recent announcement by the game’s developers, BioWare said that they are aware of Andromeda’s shortcomings, and will not commit the same mistakes for Andromeda. 

In a blog post by BioWare’s general manager Casey Hudson, he explained how the studio will learn on the mistakes committed with Andromeda, specifically on how they failed to produce a story DLC to the plot of the missing Quarian Ark, which was just left unresolved until today. 

“As you know, we were not able to deliver story DLC for Andromeda-this was as frustrating for us as it was for players, and it was something we knew we had to solve in future games.” Hudson said in the blog post.

Moving forward to Anthem, Hudson acknowledged that the team should have spent more time in developing the story elements in Andromeda, which is why the team behind Anthem is now refocusing their efforts on creating a deeply immersive story for the upcoming game. 

“We need to delight players with new experiences and innovation, but we must stay focused on the importance of the world, character, and storytelling elements that players expect from our games,” Hudson said. “And our games must be designed to continue delivering new stories and experiences, in an ongoing relationship with players in the worlds we’re evolving together.” 

Anthem was initially announced back at E3 2017 and was slated for a release this year for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. However, BioWare announced last January that the game will be delayed until 2019 but Hudson promised that the extra time will be used to refocus the direction of the game, which he hopes will live up to expectations. Lastly, Hudson reassured players that “it will be unlike anything you’ve played, but if we do it right, it will feel very distinctly BioWare.”