Looking back, we can see clearly now how Mass Effect: Andromeda failed to meet expectations. That disappointment undoubtedly affected the game's developers at BioWare and admitted as much by new BioWare head Casey Hudson in a new blog post.
In the first of a series of blog posts from BioWare, Hudson admits that there was some refocusing done at the studio after Mass Effect: Andromeda. Hudson writes, "As you know, we were not able to deliver story DLC for Andromeda–this was as frustrating for us as it was for players, and it was something we knew we had to solve in future games."
While BioWare doesn't mention going back to do those Andromeda DLCs (they have been effectively cancelled), Hudson says that the BioWare team will channel their focus on Anthem.
"We need to delight players with new experiences and innovation, but we must stay focused on the importance of the world, character, and storytelling elements that players expect from our games. And our games must be designed to continue delivering new stories and experiences, in an ongoing relationship with players in the worlds we're evolving together."
Hudson says that with a renewed focus on BioWare's strengths, Anthem will try and deliver the deep, world-building adventure BioWare is known for. "It will be unlike anything you've played," Hudson says of Anthem. "But if we do it right, it will feel very distinctly BioWare."
Hudson took over as General Manager of BioWare back in July 2017, taking over for Aaryn Flynn. The reshuffle happened after a bit of a shake-up at BioWare that saw one of its Canadian studios merged with EA's Motive Studio, which is led by Jade Raymond.
Still, Hudson's statements about focusing on Anthem is no shocker. Not only is this one of EA and BioWare's biggest upcoming games, but an important game for BioWare as a studio. No doubt we will see more of the game at this year's E3. For more, check out our Everything We Know About Anthem guide for the latest news and trailers.
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"...And our games must be designed to continue delivering new stories and experiences, in an ongoing relationship with players in the worlds we're evolving together."
So maybe when you're trying to confirm that THIS time your game won't be utter dog shit don't also tell everyone that it's being designed explicitly with the games as a service ideals in mind.
We already know it's being published by EA, that should be sufficient.
I really hope that Bioware come back to Andromeda at some point. That game is really well set up for a big chunk of new story content- just drop in new bunch of worlds, and loads of new story content. Sell it as a big $10-15 DLC, or as part of a $30 bundle with the base game. Finish the story the way you wanted to, and rebuild some goodwill in the franchise.
"It’s in that spirit that we are working through production on Anthem–a game designed to create a whole new world of story and character that you can experience with friends in an ongoing series of adventures."
How about they just make a good game? He's describing it not as a game, but as a DLC distribution scheme.
And he's couching the DLC business obsession by claiming "Players really wanted DLC to explain what happened to the Quarians." First of all, did the "Great Writers" at BioWare fail to already answer that question? (I don't understand that, since I remember the Quarians getting implicitly entirely destroyed by the robots-with-obnoxiously-uninspired-bland-voice-acting.) (And let's not forget the spectacular display of ineptitude by writing themselves into a corner with the original trilogy of Invincible Unstoppable Galaxy-Destroyers). But secondly it's a smokescreen for going DLC heavy in the future.
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So maybe when you're trying to confirm that THIS time your game won't be utter dog shit don't also tell everyone that it's being designed explicitly with the games as a service ideals in mind.
We already know it's being published by EA, that should be sufficient.
How about they just make a good game? He's describing it not as a game, but as a DLC distribution scheme.
And he's couching the DLC business obsession by claiming "Players really wanted DLC to explain what happened to the Quarians." First of all, did the "Great Writers" at BioWare fail to already answer that question? (I don't understand that, since I remember the Quarians getting implicitly entirely destroyed by the robots-with-obnoxiously-uninspired-bland-voice-acting.) (And let's not forget the spectacular display of ineptitude by writing themselves into a corner with the original trilogy of Invincible Unstoppable Galaxy-Destroyers). But secondly it's a smokescreen for going DLC heavy in the future.