Not too long ago, the video game developer BioWare announced that it wanted Anthem's live service elements to eventually become a part of the studio's future projects in the new Dragon Age and the next Mass Effect. Now, it looks as if the developer has expressed even more interest in following contemporary industry trends, with the action-RPG's Executive Producer Mark Darrah and Lead Producer Michael Gamble having discussed how some of the title's post-launch plans will take inspirations from Fortnite's implementation of seasonal events.
During PAX West 2018, Darrah explained that BioWare wants Anthem to emulate the "shared communal storytelling" found in the weekly content drops of Fortnite's seasons. The Executive Producer used such events as Epic Games adding a meteor shower, missile launch, and purple cube to the hybrid construction shooter as examples for how BioWare wishes Anthem's shared experiences will operate.
"So we definitely are planning to do some seasonal content, bigger stuff. But then I think we need something more than that. I think what Fortnite, what Epic has done that others maybe haven’t figured out, is that they have seasons—big 10 week-long things—and then within that they’re like, we’re just going to sprinkle in something on top of that.
"What then you see is a lot of developers are missing is that second level of thing. They’ve got the season and they hit that cadence. ‘We do five things a year, six things a year.’ But they don’t have that extra little bit of spice, and that’s what Epic has figured out."
Although BioWare has yet to fully map out what it has in mind for Anthem's post-launch lifespan, Gamble did state that the studio has a "full plan" in place when it comes to keeping players engaged with the action-RPG after it hits store shelves. As a matter of fact, the Lead Producer built upon Darrah's previous statements to intimate that BioWare's goal with Anthem is not only to retain the incredibly dedicated players after launch, but also to keep casual fans coming back for more as well.
"We have a full plan. Potentially even a third layer. We understand completely that as time goes on people’s interest in things will drop off and then the only people you’ll be able to get back are the ones who are super hardcore in the game. We don’t want that."
All things considered, it will be interesting to see just exactly what BioWare has up its sleeves when it comes to keeping players locked in with Anthem long after the game releases. Sure, free story DLC is a great start, and the forthcoming project has even been touted as the potential "Destiny killer". However, many would argue that setting its sights on imitating the model of Fortnite's success might prove to be much more difficult in the long run than BioWare expects. Of course, we will have to wait and find out whether or not Anthem goes on to become like that of a mindless pop ditty which everyone ultimately forgets, or a thoroughly engaging symphony that stands the test of time.
Anthem is currently scheduled to release on February 22, 2019 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Source: PC Gamer