BioWare has had plenty to say about Anthem’s evolving open world, but how exactly will it work? How will the game’s story and universe change and grow post-launch? This weekend at PAX West, Anthem lead producer Michael Gamble provided some more details about BioWare’s long-term Anthem plans.
“We’ve got the continuation of stories after we’ve launched. […] For Anthem, where we’d all like to see us head, is the ability to tell new great stories throughout the years and months after launch. So, After Anthem [launches] we can say, okay, now we’re going to expand the storyline for one of those Agents, or now that certain points in the game world have happened, this changes the relationship, this changes this character, this changes the type of missions for certain characters. Or even we add new characters, we add new Agents. We can do all that and Anthem gives us the tools to do all that.”
If Anthem’s storytelling approach pans out, Gamble would like to see a similar approach used for future BioWare games, including new entries in their big established franchises…
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“I hope that future games, whether it’s Dragon Age or the other one that starts with ‘Mass’, continues to utilize this kind of storytelling.”
Of course, these comments got the Internet properly riled up. Understandably so! All too often, when developers boast about their “living, expanding world,” what they’re actually saying is their game is going to launch half-baked. Thankfully, Gamble took to Twitter to assure fans Anthem will launch with a full, conclusive story and clarify the role of post-launch content.
I want to clarify this, as the title simplifies it far too much. Anthem has a main story and that story concludes. But it also allows us to continue the storytelling soon after launch, and keep the world alive and changing and fresh. New adventures, characters, and fun. https://t.co/u65Ebw88MY
— Michael Gamble (@GambleMike) September 3, 2018
Anthem’s approach to storytelling has been a hot topic since the game was unveiled last year, with many questioning how the game’s shared open world and BioWare’s traditional player-choice-driven writing will mesh. BioWare promises it will all work out, but it’s hard not to be a bit skeptical.
Anthem hits PC, Xbox One, and PS4 on February 22, 2019.
