Mass Effect Andromeda‘s canceled story DLC was a “defining moment” for BioWare, the company’s GM has stated, with it reportedly causing the studio to refocus and ensure that Anthem wouldn’t meet a similar fate. With BioWare having a lot riding on the upcoming multiplayer game following the underwhelming Mass Effect sequel, Casey Hudson has stated that the team has looked to Andromeda‘s problems in an effort to inform the decisions it will make with Anthem.
Mass Effect Andromeda became the first Mass Effect game to not receive any single-player DLC, after publisher EA decided to cancel future updates just five months after its release. The news came after a notable backlash against the game, which became the lowest-rated Mass Effect game thus far and received a largely negative response from fans of the series.
“When I returned to BioWare last summer, Mass Effect Andromeda had just been released and there was a significant movement among players asking for a story DLC that would answer questions surrounding the fate of the quarians,” Hudson wrote in a blog post. “As you know, we were not able to deliver story DLC for Andromeda—this was as frustrating for us as it was for players, and it was something we knew we had to solve in future games.”
Though Anthem appears to be vastly different from Mass Effect, with it sharing more in common with Destiny than BioWare’s sci-fi RPG series, it seems that the company is taking criticisms of Andromeda on board and ensuring that the same mistakes aren’t made with its upcoming game.
“That experience [with Andromeda‘s story DLC] ultimately became a defining moment in refocusing BioWare’s mission,” Hudson continued. “We need to delight players with new experiences and innovation, but we must stay focused on the importance of the world, character, and storytelling elements that players expect from our games. And our games must be designed to continue delivering new stories and experiences, in an ongoing relationship with players in the worlds we’re evolving together.”
Hudson went on to note that Anthem will be “unlike anything you’ve played,” and that it’s been designed to “create a whole new world of story and character that you can experience with friends in an ongoing series of adventures.” With Destiny not exactly being known for boasting a compelling narrative, BioWare creating a multiplayer-focused game in the vein of Bungie’s series but with a more interesting story would certainly be appealing. Let’s hope it lives up to expectations.
