Dragon Age 4 becomes BioWare's next big focus, as Anthem loses its lead creators

Credit: BioWare

Update: On Twitter, Anthem live service head Chad Robertson affirmed that he and Ben Irving, who are leading the game nowadays, are "100% committed to Anthem." Here's Robertson's full statement:

"We remain 100% committed to Anthem and look forward to showing players the new content we are working on. We want to make sure we aren’t overpromising, so our updates on what’s coming in the game will be focused when we have things near completion. Along with [Ben Irving] and I, we've got a big team between Austin and Edmonton focused and motivated for improving the game. We appreciate your support and for being on this journey with us."

Original story: 

Anthem, believe it or not, is meant to have a 10 year life cycle of post-launch content. But, in light of the game's systemic problems, BioWare's lack of communication, and a dwindling player base, that ambitious post-launch schedule is looking less and less likely, especially in light of recent news about the game's shifting development team. 

In recent weeks, three key members of Anthem's lead development team have departed from work on the project, including Executive Producer Mark Darrah, Lead Producer Michael Gamble, and Lead Director Jonathan Warner, with only the latter intending to return to the game following a personal sabbatical. 

According to a recent tweet from Gamble, the reason for this behind the scenes reshuffle seems to be Dragon Age shaped, as BioWare places the majority of its focus on getting Dragon Age 4 our of the door, following several reported reboots of the RPG sequel. 

Read more

The Anthem story explained: Everything you need to know about its lore, characters, and factions

When asked by a fan about who the Anthem community should turn to for questions and queries, Gamble confirmed that the game's Lead Producer Ben Irving and Head of Live Service Chad Robertson are now the ones spearheading the game's post-launch cycle, and hopefully steering it into a brighter future than its rocky launch period. 

Dragon Age 4, meanwhile, is reportedly another crack at a live-service game from BioWare, with online elements that would pivot the RPG series from its single-player roots. It's unlikely we'll be hearing anything soon from that title, so don't expect it to be popping up as one of the E3 2019 games later this June. Instead, the best we can hope for in the short-term is that Anthem experiences some sort of miraculous resurgence in quality and vibrance. Stranger things have happened.  

The list of Anthem problems remains long and varied. Watch our 60 second review of the game below to find out some of the biggest gripes we found during our playthrough. 

Alex Avard

I'm GamesRadar's Features Writer, which makes me responsible for gracing the internet with as many of my words as possible, including reviews, previews, interviews, and more. Lucky internet!