Anyone keeping tabs on Bioware's Anthem knows the journey has been anything but smooth sailing for the developer behind the critically acclaimed Dragon Age and Mass Effect franchises. With this being the first time the team that specializes in role-playing games has taken a shot at a live service experience, there are a number of new features and intangibles the developer hasn't been able to nail down, particularly when it comes to the issues with in-game loot in Anthem players are constantly grinding for to maximize character stats and abilities. In an effort to create a more fair system, BioWare is now looking for an expert in "games as a service" to aid the cause.
As spotted on Resetera and publisher Electronic Arts' careers page, BioWare is searching for a Senior Systems Designer with experience developing 'Loot Systems' to work with the Anthem team. Some of the verbiage used throughout the job description includes concepts of proper scaling, streak-breaking, and the ability for players to have a more predictable outcome to rewards earned.
Dedicating a position for someone to solely focus on in-game loot is both a testament to BioWare's long-term plans for Anthem, as well as a realization of the stumbles the game has dealt with in a couple of months. Sales for Anthem have already begun to noticeably drop, as the game was already outside the top ten for PS4 downloads in its first full month on the market after launching in late February. Even with Anthem's swift discount just a week after launch on Amazon, it hasn't moved the needle enough to convince others to buy the game.
Issues surrounding Anthem have centered around improper weapon damage scaling, infinite load times, a giant day-one patch, and most surprisingly the ability to crash PlayStation 4 consoles. While many of these problems have been fixed thanks to regular patches, it's clear Anthem was released too soon. Even with BioWare compromising by removing signature features like romance options to achieve this new live service concept, Anthem hasn't lived up to the pedigree the developer has become widely known to have in years prior.
As of right now, BioWare has no intentions of leaning into loot box options or paid season pass content for its player base, however the team will likely face the tough task of retaining players while still finding ways to persuade those who haven't picked up Anthem yet to give it a chance. While Anthem's content roadmap through May looks promising, it won't matter much if players don't feel they're being rewarded properly for missions and challenges they complete.
Anthem is out now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Source: Resetera, EA Careers