Overview
- In a new interview following the server closure, former executive producer Mark Darrah argues BioWare has always shifted genres and techniques, citing moves from 2D RPGs to action RPGs.
- Darrah says Electronic Arts deserves significant criticism for Anthem’s outcome but insists responsibility was shared and not solely the publisher’s.
- He identifies core design missteps, noting the team leaned on Diablo instead of Destiny for a looter shooter, which undermined loot, endgame, and player retention.
- Darrah highlights flight as both the game’s standout feature and a source of balance and narrative problems, recalling an internal test build without flight before E3 2017.
- He reflects that the Anthem Next overhaul was understaffed and canceled in February 2021, and suggests a prolonged public beta and earlier leadership from BioWare Austin might have helped after EA’s January 2026 shutdown rendered the game unplayable.