**The Rise and Fall of Anthem: A Look at BioWare’s Ambitious Mech Game and Its Potential Resurrection**
This week, BioWare’s ambitious title, Anthem, succumbed to its own struggles as EA pulled the official servers, marking a poignant end for a game that had promised to redefine the multiplayer shooter experience. Released in 2019, Anthem aimed to fuse stunning sci-fi aesthetics with exhilarating flight mechanics, only to be undermined by its always-online looter-shooter format. The game’s identity, particularly the use of the term “freelancer” to describe players, became a point of contention for many, leaving a bitter taste for some while delighting others who had long criticized the game.
Despite its closure, the discussion surrounding Anthem’s potential future has been revitalized by Mark Darrah, the former executive producer of Anthem and other notable hits like Dragon Age and Mass Effect. In a recent video titled “The Truth About What Happened on Anthem,” Darrah proposed a plan to resurrect the game as a budget single-player RPG with a distinctly reduced budget of $10 million.
**Proposed Revival Plan**
Darrah’s vision involves multiple steps to update and repurpose Anthem. Initially, he suggests upgrading the game’s compatibility for current-gen consoles by enhancing graphics features and locking frame rates to a smooth 60 frames per second. While this task seems daunting, Darrah believes leveraging better hardware simplifies the process.
A crucial pivot in Darrah’s proposal is the implementation of locally hosted servers. He revealed that the game had the code for local servers running in a development environment shortly before its initial launch, suggesting a feasible recovery path. Moving to local servers would significantly decrease the operational costs associated with keeping the game online and could potentially rely on player donations for any necessary ongoing funding.
Transitioning from an online multiplayer experience to a more narrative-driven single-player format would require creating AI-controlled party members. Darrah emphasized the need for robust companions that players could bond with throughout the game, thereby enriching the storytelling experience that BioWare is known for. He proposed developing new characters with distinct personalities and plot arcs to enhance player engagement.
**Concerns and Considerations**
While Darrah offered what seemed like a promising outline for Anthem’s revival, he acknowledged the challenges that would arise from this transformation. Notably, he cautioned that the final product would likely not match the standard pricing of contemporary AAA titles due to anticipated sales figures falling short of blockbuster expectations.
There is skepticism regarding whether EA would embrace such an idea, given its history with Anthem’s initial release and its focus on live service models. This contrasts sharply with the advent of Anthem Next, an abortive attempt at refreshing the game as a live-service experience.
**Game Preservation and Future Implications**
Darrah also touched on broader issues of game preservation, contemplating whether companies should be mandated to make their games playable indefinitely. He linked this concern to the rise of consumer movements, like Stop Killing Games (SKG), which advocate for regulations to prevent publishers from allowing games to become unplayable due to server shutdowns.
As discussions around SKG gain momentum, with political backing emerging in forums like the UK Parliament, the dialogue surrounding game preservation is entering a critical phase. The idea of ensuring that beloved titles like Anthem remain accessible in some form beyond their intended lifespan could reshape how the gaming industry considers the lifecycle of its products.
In summary, while Anthem’s legacy as an online multiplayer venture comes to a close, the implications of Darrah’s revival proposal and the growing conversation about game preservation highlight a tendency in the gaming community to advocate for lasting digital experiences. Whether BioWare and EA respond to these sentiments remains to be seen, but the conversation around Anthem’s future prompts reflection on the industry’s responsibility toward its audience and the games that defined an era.
