Fake news has come to the games industry, according to Electronic Arts Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen, in response to the early excitement surrounding Bioware’s first shared-world shooter, Anthem. But -- and stop us if you’ve heard this one before -- there might be more to the situation than the EA executive is willing to acknowledge.
Last week Kotaku published a report, citing multiple internal sources with direct knowledge, that claimed Anthem would miss its Fall 2018 launch window,. According to the report, Bioware has put most of the company’s weight behind its next game, cognizant of the fact that owner/publisher Electronic Arts likely won’t tolerate a second major flop after last year’s Mass Effect Andromeda. It’s never said outright that Bioware is doomed if Anthem doesn’t hit it big but it’s certainly implied that big changes (including layoffs) would follow disappointing sales. As a result, most of the studio’s personnel is working on Anthem in some capacity. But even that isn’t enough for the project to meet its original launch goal.
EA finally confirmed changes to Anthem’s release date in new comments to the Wall Street Journal, but Jorgensen says it would be erroneous to refer to this as a delay. EA’s chief financial officer categorically denied Kotaku’s claims, claiming the real reason we’re getting Anthem in early 2019 is because it’s a quieter time on the release calendar. Jorgensen says the change has nothing to do with an alleged inability to meet old deadlines. EA CEO Andrew Wilson offered a similar line during an investor call Monday afternoon. Both say the publisher just wants to give Anthem a better chance at commercial success and the company believes early 2019 offers just that. Pushing the project to next spring also paves the way for a new Battlefield, which apparently arrives in October.
For a very early look at Anthem, check out the gameplay footage that debuted at E3 2017. Then head down to the comments and let us know how you’re hoping to see or do in Anthem when the game hits consoles in 2019.
Anthem is in development for PS4, Xbox One and PC. The game is expected in Spring 2019.
Be sure to check back with Player.One and follow Scott on Twitter for more Anthem news in 2018 and however long Bioware supports Anthem after launch.
