Discover how poor management and last-minute changes doomed BioWare’s Anthem, a highly anticipated game that failed to meet expectations.

In the high-stakes world of video game development, few studios are as revered as BioWare. And Anthem was supposed to be its return to greatness. It was meant to be a groundbreaking online shooter that blended cooperative play (with live service) with BioWare’s trademark storytelling.

While the game is still live, it has been a disappointment. | Image Credit: BioWare

But instead of a triumphant revival, the game’s launch in 2019 became a painful reminder of how bad management and rushed decisions can ruin even the most anticipated projects. From a confusing last-minute title change to a botched live-service model, the game severely damaged its reputation.

Anthem’s chaotic development led to its failure

The mismanagement ruined the game at every stage of its development. | Image Credit: BioWare

In the final days leading up to Anthem‘s reveal at E3 2017, BioWare was in a state of confusion. And not for a small reason. The original name of the game was supposed to be Beyond, a title that reflected the studio’s vision of players exploring the wilds beyond their fortress.

Staff members had even received Beyond-branded T-shirts to wear. But then, just days before the big reveal, the company was hit with a legal fiasco, securing the rights to the Beyond trademark was too complicated.

Without a backup plan in place, the studio quickly scrambled to rename the game Anthem, a title that many developers felt had no real connection to the game’s theme or narrative. In an interview with Kotaku, an anonymous person who worked on the game said:

Everybody was like, ‘Well, that doesn’t make any sense—what does this have to do with anything?’

This last-minute change highlighted the state of the game. Staff members were in the dark about much of the game’s direction, and key features were constantly being reworked. The studio’s attempt to capitalize on the live-service model only made things worse.

The game was launched with a lack of meaningful content, bugs, and frustrating progression systems. Despite being positioned as a live-service game, the game was never able to live up to the expectations set by its competitors like Destiny.

Poor decision-making is ruining the gaming industry

The studios need to revamp their development process. | Image Credit: BioWare

The failure of Anthem is the only case, it is part of a troubling pattern within the gaming industry that has been growing for years. Companies prioritize profit over player experience, often making decisions that negatively affect the long-term success of games.

Rather than creating engaging experiences, developers are being pushed to deliver products that can be quickly patched and filled with microtransactions to make up for a lack of content.

Investors and management often don’t understand the complexities of game development, and their focus on immediate returns has led to an environment where quality is sacrificed in favor of short-term profits.

Sure, profit is important to keep the company afloat and give developers the necessary funds to continue developing games, but that doesn’t mean abandoning the gameplay and experience. One thing is for sure, though, it’s still live, unlike a few others.

Anthem is a prime example of how management’s obsession with pushing games out the door, regardless of whether they are finished or not, has led to widespread failure.

In the end, if the gaming industry doesn’t learn from Anthem’s mistakes, it risks losing the trust of its players, and more studios like BioWare may find themselves struggling to regain their place in the hearts of gamers.