Anthem: 9 MAJOR Revelations From Kotaku's Exposé
Cancelling Knights of the Old Republic 3 for a loot-shooter? Sounds like the gaming industry.
You knew it, we knew it, everyone knew it. Anthem's development was clearly troubled from the get-go, and its myriad problems - from barely communicating the premise across various adverts to a launch filled with bugs, an unbalanced loot grind and repetitive gameplay - now have answers.
They come in the form of a fascinating deep-dive exposé from Kotaku's Jason Schreier, who took it upon himself to tell the real story behind the game's conception and tumultuous, stress-filled production. Schreier has fast become the gaming industry's sole "insider" - an old-school whistleblower type who many are glad to have around, as the issues described within this latest piece point to a need for change in regards to triple-A game development.
Comprising 19 anonymous accounts all describing six years of narrative and gameplay overhauls, it's essential reading for anyone interested in the inner workings of the industry, alongside how a corporation like EA treats one of its flagship studios.
The fallout though? That's still ongoing. Bioware/EA posted a direct response, stating "We don’t see the value in tearing down one another, or one another’s work. We don’t believe articles that do that are making our industry and craft better". That would be a fair point... if it was the point of the article overall.
Instead, as you'll see, everything relating to Bioware and EA across the last 6 years has led to some fascinating revelations.