We commend: The future of the game is on the edge of an abyss

BioWare’s Anthem song was a shot in the oven, and for a while there was work on bringing a dying swan into the pool. However, this attempt could be over soon.

EA and Bioware’s attempt to create a Destiny 2-style lifetime service game with Anthem was pretty bad. Bugs, conceptual weaknesses, and lack of content as well as shaky technical application made players flee in droves. A small team of Bioware has been busy for the past few months coming up with ideas on how to bring this zombie back to life. Some ideas were introduced as well and they weren’t bad at all.

The effort may soon be over, because it is clear that EA will decide this week whether the game has a future or whether it is ultimately set aside. At least that’s what a Bloomberg report says. Understandable, because after so long since its release in early 2019, hardly any player has the name Anthem on their radar. Aside from that, a much larger team of 30 men might be needed to redesign Anthem. Aside from the fact that several prominent employees of the original team have meanwhile found new jobs.

Very few games have turned flop into a really good game – we remember No Man’s Sky, plus huge reviews for Destiny and The Division. Whether much could still be saved in Anthem remains questionable. So let’s see how EA decides this week. The publisher isn’t necessarily known to have a lot of patience with failures.