A few months after it launched, most people were calling Anthem dead in the water. The game was a story-driven game inside an MMO, and many players had issues with the way in which those MMO mechanics were implemented. However, we now know that this is a direct result of EA reaching in and making changes to the game at the last minute. Since then, the game has been in an incubation period. BioWare is calling what’s coming to Anthem Next, but there have been absolutely no details on it to date. This week, it was revealed that EA is deciding whether to move forward with the project at all or kill it.
NEWS: For the last year and a half, BioWare has been in "incubation" mode overhauling the maligned online game Anthem.
This week, EA will review the progress of "Anthem Next" and decide whether to expand the team or put an end to the project. https://t.co/eQmTq2oEjZ
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) February 8, 2021
Here’s the thing. EA has sunk millions into this game, and it’s a BioWare title that has now adopted more fans than I think anyone expected. The game has a great world, a wider universe, and characters. I think it’s a fantastic setup for an MMO that will last years. But EA needs to believe that, or they’ll kill it. At this point, I think everyone knows that Anthem’s failure was EA’s fault. If they kill Anthem Next, they’re admitting that they made a mistake. I don’t think the higher-ups at EA are capable of that though.
I think that Anthem Next will go ahead because the people who changed Anthem so late in the day don’t want to be seen in a bad light. They want to see what BioWare has made out of their changes and call it incredible. They want fans of the game, and new players, to enjoy it and make them look like heroes. I’m a big fan of the game, and I know some BioWare purists are too. I believe that Anthem Next will be the game that Anthem should have been, but it’s going to take time to convince everyone around the world of this.
Most MMOs release in a state that they don’t resemble a year later. The fact that everyone is doubling down on Anthem is odd. Of course, the game will evolve, we should expect it. At the very least, we should get to see the work that’s been done on Anthem since it went into incubation.