Anthem: 4 Reasons To Be Excited (And 3 To Be Worried)
2. EA Are Cutthroat
Maxis. Mythic. Westwood. Black Box. No, not the world's worst beat poem, just a small sample of studios EA have ruthlessly taken out behind the barn and shot.
BioWare fans may try to divert the gunman's eyes towards the critical and commercial success of Dragon Age: Inquisition, but that may not be enough. Maxis were in charge of The Sims when EA came calling. Black Box made the universally loved Skate games.
The chances that Anthem will be BioWare's last hurrah does seem unlikely, especially given that Dragon Age 4's development has been confirmed by director Mark Darrah. But after Andromeda failed, BioWare’s eggs look to be squarely in the Anthem basket right now. Two flops in a row, especially of their biggest franchise and their new golden child, and Bioware could find themselves in the sniper's scope.
Though unlikely to mean the studio's absolute closure, it could mean extra pressure applied to the next Dragon Age game.
As much as we don't like to think about it, gaming is a business and it's natural for developers to have deadlines. But if Anthem fails and the goalposts get moved, it isn't setting Dragon Age's next installment up for glory.