• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Electronic Arts to decide fate of Anthem Next this week

KyoZz

Tag, you're it.
EA will hold a meeting this week to determine whether it will continue trying to create a new version of the failed online game Anthem, according to three people familiar with the matter.

anthem.jpg


Anthem, a multiplayer game by the EA-owned developer BioWare, launched in February 2019 to poor reviews. In the following months, BioWare put together a small team to overhaul the game. Executive Producer Christian Dailey wrote three blog posts last year outlining some of the big changes planned.
But in December, Dailey left the Anthem team as part of a BioWare management shakeup, leaving the project’s fate in question.

This week, EA executives will review the latest version of Anthem Next and decide whether to expand the team or abandon the project, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing private information.
The Anthem Next team includes about 30 people, BioWare said last year. People familiar with the project said it will need to expand to at least triple that in order to produce new content and continue attempting to overhaul the game. EA has not yet indicated whether it’s willing to commit that kind of budget to revive a maligned game.

A spokesman for EA said the company doesn’t comment on “rumor and speculation.”

Anthem Next includes major changes to the game’s core systems and user interface, the people said. It’s not clear if or when these changes will be implemented in the version that’s currently available to players.

 
Kill it, or make it free to play with cosmetics/characters you can purchase.

I played through the game this past summer, I didn’t end up finishing it because well, plays like a free to play game. On the plus side though it has fantastic movement, and pretty good gunplay and abilities.

I think the people who are into the monotony that f2p games offer would really enjoy it.
 
Last edited:

Werewolf Jones

Gold Member
As easy as it is to shit on it if they switched it to an f2p model and put some work in I'd definitely give it a go but some things just weren't meant to be.
 

rob305

Member
Either make a new single player RPG or kill it. We have enough loot shooters, no one cares about those anymore
 

EekTheKat

Member
It sounds like with the amount of resources needed it would be easier/better to just build an entirely new project without being shackled by Anthem's problems.

I didn't find the lore and the world of Anthem interesting enough to revisit - the characters delivering a barrage of cutting room floor quality Marvel one liners just made the whole thing intolerable.
 
I want to see them keep going. I think its a good decision for a good company like EA.

I also think they should end their sports games, and have those teams focus on lucrative colorful match 3 phone games with more potential for TV and film synergies.
 

Saiyan-Rox

Member
They'll come to realise that there's no money to be made from the game and the money they're pumping into this "next" thing won't be worthwhile.

That is unless they make it F2P and load it with microtransactions.

Anthem ultimate team.
 

fart town usa

Gold Member
Why do people buy EA products? Admittedly I'm out of touch with what they're currently doing but I jumped ship when they dissolved Black Box (Skate) and destroyed the Dead Space IP. I played Andromeda and it it felt like a fan mod. $60 is a lot of money to just give out and EA shouldn't be trusted as far as I'm concerned.

All I hear about is garbage releases. Just stop giving them money.
 

Codes 208

Member
Let it die. It was a shitshow before, during and after launch.
i hope they don't pull the trigger i want to try this game one day, but probably:

some-years-from-now-gee-whiz-where-we-going-papea-13935062.png

Jokes aside I don’t think they’ll be doing that any time soon considering BioWare already announced the continuation of mass effect recently.
 
Last edited:

manfestival

Member
The game just needs to die. Either reboot it or let it go. REALLY wanted this game to be good. I love the design and the aesthetic. The execution and storytelling brought it all down among many other things.
 

John Day

Member
I wonder why even announce this meeting at all. Like, to gauge reactions or something?

Kinda weird they didn’t just decide and then announce something.
 
Like others have said, just make it free to play and sell cosmetics. I like the core mechanics of shooting & flying but there's no real story to make the missions have any meanings. Already feels free to play so why fight it?
 

kraspkibble

Permabanned.
i kinda hope they give it a chance. it has potential but they fucked it up. if they get "2.0" right then it could be such a fun game. of course it all comes down to money and i don't think people are willing to give it a second chance so i guess they might as well kill it off. it's a lose lose situation. if millions of $ were at risk and i was a top level EA donkey then i'd cut it off :(
 
Last edited:

Sybrix

Member
Surely make it F2P and dangle a few freebees to attract people and sell a shit ton of cosmetics to make the $$$$, no?

That seems to work for all other F2P games
 
If they cancel Anthem, I'm afraid of where they'd put the now-freed-up resources.

At least with Anthem, I know my enemy.

To clarify, I hope they don't fire the devs, though, but that's also on the table, I suppose.
 
As someone that actually kinda liked Anthem. Just kill it already. Its been dead almost 2 years now. Nobody wants to wait another 2 years for this. The flying was cool, the combos were cool the classes were cool...and pretty much nothing else.
 
Top Bottom