BioWare downplayed Anthem as a "Destiny killer" while it was in development.
Taking to Twitter over the last few days, former BioWare producer Ian Saterdalen reveals some new bits of info about live-service shooter Anthem. Saterdalen begins by admitting that BioWare knew Anthem wasn't ready for launch as it was cobbled together in just 15 months while also adding that the developers downplayed it being a "Destiny killer."
Thank you! I think maybe in the public eye it may have been positioned to be a destiny killer. It came up in conversations internally but we didn't have the muscle or know-how to take on destiny. It was squashed very fast bc that's a lot of pressure. Let's walk before running.May 30, 2023
Although the possibility of taking on Bungie's behemoth online shooter came up in conversations at BioWare, top developers knew they couldn't compete with Destiny, Saterdalen writes. BioWare just didn't have the knowledge and manpower to compete with all the hundreds of developers and shooter veterans that Bungie has accrued over the years.
- Dragon Age 2 director acknowledges "really fast rush" behind the RPG's development as the team tried to "jump on the grenade that was being placed in front of BioWare"
- BioWare co-founder dreamt of taking over EA "from the inside" if Star Wars: The Old Republic was, "like, $2 billion a year successful"
"Let's walk before running" is a phrase that makes a lot of sense for BioWare when approaching Anthem. The developer had never dabbled in live-service games before taking on the project, so it's probably for the best that they weren't looking to take on one of the most popular online console shooters in the world (at the time, at least).
Anthem, as Saterdalen alludes to, would famously be a black mark on BioWare's record, with a planned reboot cancelled internally before it ever saw the light of day. We'll maybe never know what BioWare's rebooted vision for Anthem was, and the fact that hundreds of hours of hard work by developers have been wiped off the face of the Earth is always a sad thing.
In more positive BioWare-adjacent news though, we've still got Dragon Age 4 to look forward to within the next year or so.
