Jason Schreier - BioWare Plans A Complete Overhaul for Anthem

[Mr. Pointy]

Fixing Anthem isn't about fixing Anthem, it's about fixing Bioware's reputation. No one will buy Dragon Age 4: Age of GaaSpocalypse or Mass Effect GaaSdromeda 2 coming of the back of Anthem 1.0 and Andromeda 1.

Anthem 2.0, even if it's just a vanity project that no one plays, is necessary to mitigate any skepticism of the quality of Bioware's future games.

 

[Praetorpwj]

The best way would be to relaunch with next gen consoles. If they can deliver an experience close to the original demo using next gen power they will be onto a winner.

Regardless of the existing bad faith a lot of new owners are going to want to own that day one.

 

[Almagest]

Good for them, I truly hope they can turn it around and succeed.

I guess I'll just finally let go of BioWare and simply be in the lookout in the event they ever decide to release anything relevant to my interests again.

 

[Deleted member 60410]

The reboot would have to be truly stellar to wipe away Anthem's tarnished reputation and pull people away from Destiny, Warframe and other GaaS titles. Which is never going to happen.

 

[Nameless]

The best way would be to relaunch with next gen consoles. If they can deliver an experience close to the original demo using next gen power they will be onto a winner.

Click to shrink...

A 4K/60 Anthem with no load times and a 'Taken King' level re-launch(and all the positive press & word of mouth that came with that) is the literally the only way I see this even having a shot of turning around. They'd still face the Destiny 1 problem, though, of being tethered to old hardware. Which is a shame. The initial pitch of a 'living planet' with meaningful world state changes and dynamic storytelling sounded really cool. But that ain't happening as long as Jaguar CPUs are in the equation.

 

[Alexious]

A 4K/60 Anthem with no load times and a 'Taken King' level re-launch(and all the positive press & word of mouth that came with that) is the literally the only way I see this even having a shot of turning around. They'd still face the Destiny 1 problem, though, of being tethered to old hardware. Which is a shame. The initial pitch of a 'living planet' with meaningful world state changes and dynamic storytelling sounded really cool. But that ain't happening as long as Jaguar CPUs are in the equation.

Click to shrink...

That is why I reckon they have to make a new game for nextgen hardware. Of course, it would have to be free or close to free for existing Anthem players.

 

[PaulloDEC]

I have no particular love for Anthem, but I'd be happy to see it reshaped into something worthwhile, if only for the sake of the developers who worked their asses off getting it out the door.

 

[Musubi]

Please go watch the Noclip documentary about FFXIV. It's not a case of "if square can do it then anyone can."

Click to shrink...

I watched that as it came out. What's your point?

 

[Bufbaf]

Cool. I'd rather check out an actually good anthem game than yet another mass effect spinoff, given it's setting, characters and designs.. Here's hoping they can turn it around.

There has to be done a lot more work than just adding shit on top of it though. The entire game needs to be redone basically.

 

[OutofMana]

It's going to take a lot to turn that around. I think it's the worst game I have played this gen. With Mass Effect Andromeda coming in second.

 

[skeezx]

godspeed to BioWare but i found the gameplay loop really not fun at all. maybe in a world without Division or Destiny i'd be interested where they could take it form here

 

[Plywood]

They should rehaul/retrofit it and tie it into the Mass Effect franchise, Mass Effect: Anthem and if it plays similarly to the MP of ME3 then baby you'll have a stew going. Otherwise just let it die.

 

[oni-link]

Focus on ME and DA

 

[ScribeofGeadhain]

The lore-foundation of the game is solid and was never expounded upon; gunplay and 3rd person Destiny vibe (sans equipping legendary 1H) was enticing. I'm definitely interested in seeing if this can be salvaged. Some really negative people here who want to see this game continue its downward spiral and there's really no need for that.

 

[Dunlop]

Fixing Anthem isn't about fixing Anthem, it's about fixing Bioware's reputation. No one will buy Dragon Age 4: Age of GaaSpocalypse or Mass Effect GaaSdromeda 2 coming of the back of Anthem 1.0 and Andromeda 1.

Anthem 2.0, even if it's just a vanity project that no one plays, is necessary to mitigate any skepticism of the quality of Bioware's future games.

Click to shrink...

This is the case for me at least. After Anthem I planned on boycotting anything from BioWare

 

[Foxvic]

Maybe the can do something finally.

 

[chogidogs]

You know what? Sure. Do it. Cause Anthem is the worst $60 I've spent and I would like to get something more out of it.

 

[Asbsand]

This is the case for me at least. After Anthem I planned on boycotting anything from BioWare

Click to shrink...

Until they make the game you want and then you have no pockets to put your opinion in.

 

[Brinbe]

stop trying to make anthem happen.

 

[Sidebuster]

That reminds me of Final Fantasy XIV and A Realm Reborn. The game shut down for like 6 months plus and they kind of re-released it for like $40. I think everyone had to pay it too even the people who already bought it.

Maybe they'll overhaul completely like a total conversion mod would overhaul a game and just release it again. I imagine it wouldn't take as long as making a whole new game and they could potentially charge something for it again as well.

 

[The Shape]

 

[TheDutchSlayer]

Its nice but my question is why?
Why put in the time that clearly "nobody" wants to play.

 

[Saint-14]

Its nice but my question is why?
Why put in the time that clearly "nobody" wants to play.

Click to shrink...

Because they still want their Destiny.

 

[Knight in Shining Armani]

Don't see the point. People either already spent money on it or they won't bother. Better to make Anthem 2 and make it not shit.

 

[AuthenticM]

A 4K/60 Anthem with no load times and a 'Taken King' level re-launch(and all the positive press & word of mouth that came with that) is the literally the only way I see this even having a shot of turning around. They'd still face the Destiny 1 problem, though, of being tethered to old hardware. Which is a shame. The initial pitch of a 'living planet' with meaningful world state changes and dynamic storytelling sounded really cool. But that ain't happening as long as Jaguar CPUs are in the equation.

Click to shrink...

They basically have to pull a Final Fantasy XIV: relaunch the game on new hardware or a new engine, and cut the umbilical cord to the old version. They need to treat Anthem's relaunch as Anthem 2 without branding it as such.

 

[DeaDPooL_jlp]

I'm all for a good comeback story but no amount of positive change is gonna suddenly cause the population to reach an acceptable level, people have moved on, Bioware should too.

 

[oni_gank]

Fixing Anthem isn't about fixing Anthem, it's about fixing Bioware's reputation. No one will buy Dragon Age 4: Age of GaaSpocalypse or Mass Effect GaaSdromeda 2 coming of the back of Anthem 1.0 and Andromeda 1.

Anthem 2.0, even if it's just a vanity project that no one plays, is necessary to mitigate any skepticism of the quality of Bioware's future games.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I feel the same. BioWare would probably doing it for their future. I know that nobody is going to buy the next BioWare games without sceptical eyes.

However, comeback story like NMS would certainly helps to boost their morales.

I suspect that Jedi Fallen Order's success might boost EA's reputation in handling the license.

 

[mutantmagnet]

But WHYYYY? Just take the L and try to make something good next time.

Click to shrink...

EA thinks they can do better than Square Enix and FFXIV or Hello Games and NMS.

I'mbetting against them because those studios had vision underneath the shit they initially released. What's the underlying vision of Anthem?

 

[Zukuu]

What's the underlying vision of Anthem?

Click to shrink...

 

[Storminormin]

Too much negativity around this game. Great gameplay, but all the systems around it suck. If they fix it the game could be great.

 

[Villein]

Maybe add some actual story and RPG bioware magic and maybe ppl will care about this IP

 

[m_dorian]

I think that at this point a refund would be cheaper.

 

[Garlador]

EA thinks they can do better than Square Enix and FFXIV or Hello Games and NMS.

I'mbetting against them because those studios had vision underneath the shit they initially released. What's the underlying vision of Anthem?

Click to shrink...

To be fair, all games are made with the intent of making money, but I do agree. NMS and FFXIV: ARR made money off the back of a strong vision of expansive, immersive gameplay, addictive feedback loops, and deep, rewarding mechanics (and in FF14's case, an epic, jaw-dropping narrative that has only grown better with each new update). They were also carving out their own niche in the gaming industry, for the most part.

Anthem was created to chase after trends - to be the next Destiny, let's just admit.

It reminds me of something I heard (was it Kevin Levine?), where some companies (mostly EA) want "to be the next Minecraft", "the next Call of Duty", "the next DOTA", "the next Fortnite", "the next Destiny"... but the people who made those original games weren't asking those questions. Paraphrasing, "Nobody was asking for Portal until it arrived. Nobody was demanding Bioshock until they got to play it. The audience for Overwatch didn't know they existed until the game was made for them. The best games don't follow in the footsteps of giants. They make their own."

 

[Metroidvania]

Honestly, the biggest question I have is whether or not they think they can get this out the door before PS5 and the next Xbox roll around?

Because if they time it too late, they're boned - next-gen hype will take over, and there will be newer games to spend dollars on.

Also, even with backwards compatibility being a thing, there's still Destiny 2, Fortnite, Siege, Division 2 (somewhat less so), and plenty other GAAS that will presumably keep right on trucking as well - how is Anthem 2.0 going to cut a portion of those players and convince them to return?

...Unless Bioware can somehow right the ship significantly 'better' than NMS or FFXIV did, no matter how much work they put in, they missed their prime opportunity/moment to 'strike while the iron is hot' - and in so doing, did some harm to Bioware's brand.

 

[Br3wnor]

That's good to hear, people who paid full price at launch for Anthem deserve this, my understanding is the world and idea of the game is solid, it's just packaged as a mess.

More importantly from this article is a NEW MASS EFFECT BABY, fuck that is great news, ME:A wasn't awful and if they can start over with a solid team we can have another amazing ME trilogy, I am pumped they didn't put the franchise on hold.

 

[Pasha]

Anthems issues run very very deep. They will not only have to redesign the game, but they will also have to redesign the ENGINE, which seemed to be what was responsible for a lot of the issues that Anthem had, on top of all that they will have to add substantial amount of content to the game, and while doing all that they have to maintain the current build of the game.
I honestly don't know how they will pull this off without having the devs be stuck in crunch mode for a very long time, and we all know how horrible that shit was for the devs during Anthems development.
So I agree with most of the people here, let it fucking go and just make the next Dragon Age and Mass Effect without all this GaaS crap and let that be your apology.

 

[Garlador]

Honestly, the biggest question I have is whether or not they think they can get this out the door before PS5 and the next Xbox roll around?

Because if they time it too late, they're boned - next-gen hype will take over, and there will be newer games to spend dollars on.

Also, even with backwards compatibility being a thing, there's still Destiny 2, Fortnite, Siege, Division 2 (somewhat less so), and plenty other GAAS that will presumably keep right on trucking as well - how is Anthem 2.0 going to cut a portion of those players and convince them to return?

...Unless Bioware can somehow right the ship significantly 'better' than NMS or FFXIV did, no matter how much work they put in, they missed their prime opportunity/moment to 'strike while the iron is hot' - and in so doing, did some harm to Bioware's brand.

Click to shrink...

I think they'll actually leverage new consoles with a new iteration of Anthem. Desperate new console players always have slim pickings for new games at launch, so having a next-gen version of Anthem that shows off the new machines - and hopefully is much better - is the perfect time to ride the next-gen hype wave. It can't just be "more Anthem"... but if it's actually more like their debut reveal...

... they can at least coast by on being a technical showcase.

A LOT of this gen's early launch game successes were crossgen ports of older games with enhanced visuals and fidelity that often sold more than their last-gen counterparts. Anthem re-launching on current gen systems exclusively is not likely. If EA wants their "10 year service game", they'll need to prep it all for next-gen.

 

[thediamondage]

you know what its time for

Brink Reboot

 

[OtakuCoder]

That reminds me of Final Fantasy XIV and A Realm Reborn. The game shut down for like 6 months plus and they kind of re-released it for like $40. I think everyone had to pay it too even the people who already bought it.

Click to shrink...

A Realm Reborn was a free upgrade for anyone who bought a copy of the original FF14.

 

[haradaku7]

I'd be willing to give it another shot.

 

[Human Resources]

the core gameplay and art design is really nice. there's a good game in there, i just refuse to believe that EA will actually be willing to spend the money to get it there

 

[Gibordep]

The game has a good base, has potential to be a great game.
The people that is against this decision of trying to revive the game, at majority, are the same that was against the game, because of it not being SP.

 

[ultima786]

Im excited honestly. I didn't play this but I really wanted to, until it became clear It wasn't a finished product.

 

[Garlador]

The game has a good base, has potential to be a great game.
The people that is against this decision of trying to revive the game, at majority, are the same that was against the game, because of it not being SP.

Click to shrink...

I can only speak for myself. I was rooting for the game and I was colossally disappointed. I don't even know if I would say it has a "good base" because the only thing I really found enjoyable was the flying (and even that had a limit).

There are many factors involved with being skeptical - believing the base ISN'T great (sounds like they're pretty much retooling the whole foundation to make this work), that there are better Bioware properties they could focus on instead (part of Anthem AND Andromeda's problems was having the focus split between them, as both teams were constantly helping out on each other's games), the absolutely grueling toll the crunch and development took on the Bioware devs (reports of breakdowns, therapy sessions, crying in bathrooms, etc.), sticking to a problematic engine (Frostbite is NOT ideal for Bioware), and just... moving on. We don't want Bioware mired down in a sunk cost fallacy of trying to constantly repair a fatally flawed game for years on end when time, money, resources, and manpower could be spent learning from the failures and moving on to something better.

But maybe Anthem 2.0 will silence all the critics. Until we see and play that version, though, there's no evidence in the past several years that Bioware's earned our trust to pull it off. I do sincerely wish them the best, but there IS wisdom in letting go and having those mistakes inform your future games.

 

[El-Suave]

They're throwing good money after bad money - it probably would need a full game's budget to overhaul it and better Service games have trouble finding an audience right now. They've had their shot and blown it. This will not be a No Man's Sky like redemption story.

 

[Dunlop]

Until they make the game you want and then you have no pockets to put your opinion in.

Click to shrink...

There are a lot of games out there, Anthem as it was release imo was borderline fraud. The expose on the development of the game only re-enforced that. I'm not going to spend more money to encourage that behaviour

 

[FallenGrace]

ME would only be interesting if they. Just rebooted it. It has legacy there but also legacy people hate. Needs a fresh start.

DA seems to have a following but they have always been a bit average to me personally. Just nothing really stands out. Not terrible but bit crazy amazing. Strictly average.

At least Anthem was something new and fresh. Would rather then out full effort into make that great instead of another DA.

Click to shrink...

Give me Dragon Age with its lore and world over Anthems barebone mess any day of the week.

 

[Sabin]

That reminds me of Final Fantasy XIV and A Realm Reborn. The game shut down for like 6 months plus and they kind of re-released it for like $40. I think everyone had to pay it too even the people who already bought it.

Maybe they'll overhaul completely like a total conversion mod would overhaul a game and just release it again. I imagine it wouldn't take as long as making a whole new game and they could potentially charge something for it again as well.

Click to shrink...

Can everyone please stop comparing this to FF14.

Saving FF14 was a once in a generation situation with the brand name of Final Fantasy on the line. FF14 ARR isn't just a rework it is pretty much a complete new game which took over 2 years to develop and led to delays and cancelation of other projects.

At the 2011 Tokyo Game Show, Wada issued an official apology for the quality of the game, saying that "the Final Fantasy brand [had] been greatly damaged".The company and development team eventually decided to scrap the current version of XIV, rebuilding it from the ground up. This rebooted version, initially titled Final Fantasy XIV 2.0, began development in April 2011. The rebooted version was released in 2013 with the subtitle A Realm Reborn, and has been positively received by critics and players. Yoshida, commenting in a later interview, stated that A Realm Reborn was just the first part of regaining player trust after the release of XIV, predicting that the process would take a long time.

Click to shrink...

 

[Deleted member 22585]

.... For next gen?

Would make sense but that's one year off.

 

[Asbsand]

There are a lot of games out there, Anthem as it was release imo was borderline fraud. The expose on the development of the game only re-enforced that. I'm not going to spend more money to encourage that behaviour

Click to shrink...

I think the fact that only Anthem got an Expose when hundreds of other big releases didn't paints an exaggerated picture of how bad the working conditions could be for the game. In fact there's several developers that came out and said there were unsurprised to hear the woes of Anthem's development because it sounded so simialr to struggles they had faced themselves. There's an activision employee I've spoken to who said "So it's like any other AAA game" when they heard about the various ways Anthem faced numerous roadblocks.

All projects hit problems like Anthem but not all projects has a management so unwilling to move based on the issues they face or so lacking in vision or balls to make decisions as BioWare apparently did. It's not a fraud it's just not as competent as one would expect from a release with the amount of marketing EA poured into it.

There were two conflicting wishes at play: BioWare's desire to make something "Not boring and like what we did before" and EA believing the game that was being developed at BioWare was gonna be a Destiny killer, and they took the plunge and prepared an excessive marketing campaign for that, when it then turned out to completely undermine it by being a broken-ass game.