Dragon Age director, BioWare learned a valuable lesson from Anthem's failure: 'Know your strengths and double down on them'

Anthem was a bit confusing right from the beginning. Why would BioWare--a studio that focuses almost exclusively on singleplayer RPGs like Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights--suddenly jump into a looter-shooter game aimed at multiplayer? It was strange, but the outcome was not unexpected. We called it "deeply flaws and frequently frustrating" in a 55% review. And just two years later, in 2019, BioWare officially halted development.

In an Edge magazine feature on BioWare's upcoming Dragon Age: The Veilguard, creative director John Epler said that the studio's experience with Anthem taught it a tough but important lesson: Stick to what you know. In a recent Edge magazine article on BioWare’s upcoming Dragon Age The Veilguard game, creative director John Epler stated that the studio’s experience with Anthem had taught it an important but tough lesson: Stick to your strengths.

Epler said, "We are a studio built on a foundation of storytelling and roleplaying." "I am proud of many things I did on Anthem. I worked on that project for over a year and half. We were building a video game that was centered around a subject we weren't as good at.

"The biggest lesson for me and my team was to know your strengths and focus on them. Spread yourself thin. Don't try and do too many things that you are not qualified to do. Many of the people in this team came to this team to build a singleplayer RPG that was story-focused.

When successful, Anthem is a great example of long-term monetization. This is something you won't get from a singleplayer RPG. Baldur's Gate 3's success (and irony) shows that there is a real demand for this type of self-contained games. BioWare tried out live service elements early on in The Veilguard but ultimately chose a more conventional approach.

Epler said, "We tried many different ideas in the beginning." "But The Veilguard's current form is in many ways the form we always pushed towards. We were just trying to find different ways to get there. We finally decided that this was a single-player, story-focused, RPG. That's all we needed.

Epler's words echo the words of Corinne Busche who stated in June that BioWare aims to make The Veilguard the "most complete singleplayer game possible" with no microtransactions and online requirements. I'm not the biggest Dragon Age fan, and I will always believe that Dragon Age Dreadwolf is far superior to The Veilguard, but it's encouraging that BioWare is playing to its strengths. As the famous ranger Minsc said, "If you're an adventurer, then let's adventure!"

Dragon Age: The Veilguard hasn't been released yet, but it is expected to arrive later this year, possibly in time for the 10th Anniversary of Dragon Age Inquisition which was released on November 18, 2014.