BioWare starts shifting focus to Dragon Age 4, still 'committed' to Anthem
What's going on?
At Microsoft's E3 briefing a few years ago, Anthem blew gamers away with its Iron Man-like flying, impressive visuals, and (seemingly) complex gameplay. Unfortunately, when the title launched in February, it was a shell of what fan's expected. It didn't look as good, was plagued with performance issues, and the loot system was broken.
A few days ago, developer BioWare stated that it was delaying Anthem's major content updates — like "Catalysms" — to focus on bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements. Many gamers thought that the team was entirely focused on making Anthem better, and future games would be put on hold. To the surprise of many, shortly after that, Executive Producer Mark Darrah posted on Twitter that he was working on Dragon Age 4. BioWare's effort is shifting towards that game. Eurogamer managed to compile the complete account.
@BenIrvo and @crobertson_atx are your dudes to follow.@BenIrvo and @crobertson_atx are your dudes to follow.— Michael Gamble (@GambleMike) May 1, 2019May 1, 2019
Lead producer Mike Gamble also said that he wasn't working on Anthem anymore. This caused an uproar among Anthem players because they were worried that the title wasn't going to be supported as well in the future. A user by the name of X Streams Studio accurately captured this sentiment when he asked, "how can we trust y'all with Dragon Age as a live service when y'all can't even commit to getting Anthem right? Anthem's roadmap is hardly on track and the loot issue is still abhorrent."
Sensing the concern, producer Chad Robertson quickly said that the team was "100 percent committed to Anthem." Robertson added that BioWare was a large developer and could handle Anthem and Dragon Age at the same time. Gamble also chimed in and echoed this sentiment.
There's been a lot of (incorrect) speculation on this. The studio's support and commitment to anthem HAS. NOT. CHANGED. https://t.co/uxwY3ADPROThere's been a lot of (incorrect) speculation on this. The studio's support and commitment to anthem HAS. NOT. CHANGED. https://t.co/uxwY3ADPRO— Michael Gamble (@GambleMike) May 3, 2019May 3, 2019
It's seems that BioWare is focusing on Dragon Age 4, and hopefully what the team is saying about Anthem will hold true in the coming months. However, similar statements were made in regards to Mass Effect: Andromeda. Mass Effect: Andromeda's expansions were cancelled and the title was essentially abandoned. It even resulted in a studio closure. It's understandable why fans are upset. We can only hope that the fears are unfounded.
Even after all these months, Anthem needs a lot of work, which doesn't shine a positive light on any prospective Dragon Age 4. What are your thoughts on this? Let us know.
This is like third-person Destiny
Anthem is a shared world shooter from BioWare. BioWare is the studio behind famous franchises like Dragon Age and Mass Effect. While the game may not be as great as what was initially teased, it's still a lot of fun with friends. The team has promised a number of features for the future, but it remains to be seen if the original vision will be realized.
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Asher Madan handles gaming news for Windows Central. Before joining Windows Central in 2017, Asher worked for a number of different gaming outlets. He has a background in medical science and is passionate about all forms of entertainment, cooking, and antiquing.