BioWare Ends Development on Anthem Next

Development on Anthem Next has come to a close. BioWare Austin’s Studio Director Christian Dailey made the announcement today in a statement released on the company’s website. This comes after more than a year of work that the company has done to try and completely overhaul the game.

“I know this will be disappointing to the community of Anthem players who have been excited to see the improvements we’ve been working on,” he said in the statement. “It’s also disappointing for the team who were doing brilliant work.”

Dailey notes that working from home due to the pandemic had an effect on the team’s productivity, and that goals they had in mind prior to the pandemic could not be achieved without “putting undue stress” on the teams. Part of the decision to end development on Anthem Next also came down to the challenges of making video games, as well as the need for more focus on the next Dragon Age and Mass Effect games. The team is still continuing to put out updates for Star Wars: The Old Republic as well. Although Anthem Next is no longer happening, the live service for Anthem will continue to run as it currently is.

“To the Anthem community, thank you for your passion and creativity. Your feedback and suggestions most certainly help shape the team’s direction, and on a personal note, your kindness and encouragement were much needed last year.”

Anthem has had a very turbulent journey. When it released in early 2019, it received criticism for a number of reasons including bugs, its story, and the core gameplay loop. Former Kotaku writer Jason Schrier released a report shortly after the game’s launch, detailing the troubled development cycle the game went through. In February last year, Casey Hudson, BioWare’s General Manager at the time, put out a statement officially announcing that the team would be working on retooling the game to “bring out the full potential of the experience.” Things all came to a head last week when we learned that EA would be deciding whether or not to continue development on Anthem Next.

It’s been rough for BioWare these past couple years. Though Anthem‘s future may have come to an end, many are hoping that the release of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition will be the start of a return to greatness for the once highly esteemed developer.