BioWare's Anthem revamp canceled: 'Game development is hard,' says executive producer

Terry Collins, USA TODAY
·2 min read

The creators of "Anthem" have shut down a revamped version of the online sci-fi video game.

Game maker BioWare said Wednesday it has stopped developing an overhauled version known by many as "Anthem NEXT."

"While we continue to make progress against all our game projects at BioWare, working from home during the pandemic has had an impact on our productivity and not everything we had planned as a studio before COVID-19 can be accomplished without putting undue stress on our teams," BioWare executive producer Christian Dailey said in a blog post updating "Anthem's" status.

The studio will continue to run the current live service for "Anthem," Dailey said.

The decision to curb the revamp of "Anthem" comes after its creators spent last year discussing the game's redesign. However, published reports earlier this month said the fate of the troubled game rested in the hands of its publisher Electronic Arts (EA).

BioWare's "Anthem" game.
BioWare's "Anthem" game.

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Anticipation was high for "Anthem," a futuristic multiplayer fighting game that lets users climb into exo-suits when it premiered at the E3 video gaming convention in 2018. But the title reportedly suffered from major issues ranging from connectivity, glitches to structural issues almost immediately after its launch three years ago.

At the time, BioWare general manager Casey Hudson took the reins to reboot the game. But EA announced that Hudson and another executive left the company in 2020. Dailey then took over "Anthem's" revamp.

In Wednesday's post, Dailey said canceling the overhaul is disappointing not only to fans of the game, but also its development team and himself. He said the past two years working on the title have been "some of the most challenging and rewarding experiences" of his career.

"Game development is hard. Decisions like these are not easy," Dailey said. "Moving forward, we need to laser focus our efforts as a studio and strengthen the next 'Dragon Age,' and 'Mass Effect' titles while continuing to provide quality updates to 'Star Wars: The Old Republic.' "

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Anthem canceled: BioWare halts video game revamp