EA’s EVP Patrick Söderlund spoke with Microsoft’s Major Nelsen during one of E3’s overlooked livestreams, and spelled out that Anthem is a “ten-year journey” for BioWare and EA, echoing the phrasing of the Bungie/Activision deal from years past which will be entering Year Four when Destiny 2 is released this fall.
Söderlund said that Anthem has been in development for four years already, and the ten years starts when the game is released. That's supposed to be 2018, but knowing how these projects go, may end up being 2019.
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But it’s eye-rolling in that it assumes massive success, which is far from a sure thing. Yes, what was shown at E3 looked great, and there’s a lot of talent working on Anthem.
Yet BioWare has had their share of missteps in the past, the initial rollout of SWTOR which was far from the WoW-killer it was supposed to be, the backlash of Dragon Age 2 and development issues with Inquisition, and most recently, the poor reception of Mass Effect Andromeda, which seemed like it was going to be another beloved game in the franchise rather than a cautionary tale.
One thing I hope Anthem learns from Destiny is that it decides what type of game it’s going to be up front.
I think Destiny has rubbed a lot of fans the wrong way, as many assumed the game was going to be a ten-year journey like you see in an MMO like World of Warcraft, but the sequel forcing players to ditch their gear and even paid-for items has meant that it’s a much more traditional release.
That’s not what the “ten-year plan” signaled to many at the outset, and I think EA would be wise to explain exactly how Anthem is going to work going forward. Will this be like Destiny and The Division, games with DLC and hard cuts between sequels, or an ongoing experience where your character (and gear) will live on forever like an MMO?