Ex-BioWare producer says Anthem fit the studio’s evolution

Kotaku reports that ex-BioWare producer Mark Darrah has disputed the idea that the studio should never have made Anthem, a week after the game's servers were shut down and the live-service project was declared over.

In an interview with YouTuber Destin Legarie, Darrah said many people want to blame EA for pushing BioWare into a cooperative loot shooter, but it wasn't "all their fault." He argued that "BioWare has always been changing," saying by that logic the studio "should never have made Neverwinter Nights" or "Mass Effect." He acknowledged that Anthem may have been "too big of a reach," but added, "Could you tell at the time? I don't know. I don't know that you could."

Reports indicate Anthem's development did some "seismic damage" to BioWare internally. The company was downsized last year as a small team works on the next Mass Effect, and it remains unclear whether that will be enough to get the studio back on track after a decade of strife.

Key Topics

Culture, Bioware, Anthem, Mark Darrah, Mass Effect, Neverwinter Nights