EA and Bioware are still being pretty cagey about Anthem, the multiplayer shooter unveiled during Electronic Arts and Microsoft’s annual E3 briefings, given that we’re still more than a year away from the game’s projected launch date. That means we’re still well inside the window of time in which fans pick apart any/every major and minor statement about the game from official sources, in hopes of discovering a tiny morsel of information about Anthem. Case in point, just look at Edmonton AM’s recent interview with Bioware General Manager Aaron Flynn.
It’s not the first time we’ve seen Anthem fans make mountains out of molehills. Earlier this month, EA VP Patrick Söderlund made waves when he suggested the publisher hopes to get at least 10 years of products/product support out of the Anthem IP, mirroring similar rumors about Bungie and Activision’s original plans for Destiny. Now, gamers and games journalists can’t seem to stop talking about Edmonton AM’s new interview with Flynn, recorded shortly after his appearance at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo. There’s not much new information to be gleaned from the discussion and the tiny bit getting all of the attention doesn’t really give us much hard data on the project. But Flynn says Bioware will prioritize engaging content over creatures and scenarios that can be explained scientifically when designing Anthem’s alien world.
“You see a lot of amazing things happening. But we don’t worry too much about how they’re happening or why they’re happening. The science of it,” Flynn told Edmonton AM. “ Mass Effect is more of our hardcore science fiction IP. [Anthem] is much more about having a game world that is lush and exotic and really sucks you in.”
Flynn said Anthem fans could expect a universe more akin to Star Wars or the Marvel Cinematic Universe: properties that attempt to justify much of what’s on screen but don’t always use widely accepted science as the backing for that explanation. It’s not clear whether or not that means we can expect some supernatural aspect to the game, like the Force in Star Wars’ or the litany of superpowers in the MCU. But we still have 12-plus months to uncover the answer to that mystery.
Anthem is in development for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. The game is scheduled to debut sometime in fall 2018.
Be sure to check back with Player.One and follow Scott on Twitter for more Anthem coverage in 2017 and however long Bioware continues to support Anthem after launch.
