Bioware's Casey Hudson Confirms Massive Rework Of Looter-Shooter 'Anthem'

Bioware revealed Tuesday it is working on a “soft reboot” of its looter-shooter, “Anthem,” after its heavily criticized release.

Bioware General Manager Casey Hudson addressed the game’s future in a blog post on Bioware’s official website. In it, he talks about how the development team has worked to improve the game’s quality of life through three seasons of content and various patches.

However, he goes on to say that to ensure “Anthem’s” future, the game will be largely reworked over the next year.

“Over the coming months we will be focusing on a longer-term redesign of the experience, specifically working to reinvent the core gameplay loop with clear goals, motivating challenges and progression with meaningful rewards – while preserving the fun of flying and fighting in a vast science-fantasy setting,” Hudson said. “And to do that properly we’ll be doing something we’d like to have done more of the first time around – giving a focused team the time to test and iterate, focusing on gameplay first.”

He says Bioware will still support the current version of “Anthem,” but the team will be moving away from seasonal content as it focuses on reworking the game.

“Creating new worlds is central to our studio mission, but it’s not easy. Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we miss,” Hudson said. “What keeps us going is the support from players like you. Your feedback gives us guidance on how we can improve, and your passion inspires us with the courage to create. I look forward to working together with your involvement and feedback toward the best possible future for ‘Anthem.’”

Hudson’s blog post confirms a report in November that Bioware and EA were planning an overhaul of the game, reportedly referred to internally as “Anthem 2.0.” The report said key focuses of Bioware’s “Anthem” overhaul was the loot system, progression, social system and game world.