Ever since its establishment in 1995, BioWare has become one of the leading developers in the video game industry today, with famous franchises under its belt such as Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and more. Despite the company's solid history, 2020 proved to be difficult for BioWare, especially after the departure of high profile figures in the studio, including Casey Hudson (for the second time) and Mark Darrah.
Although BioWare remains committed to delivering high-quality games to its fanbase, many grew concerned about the company's state after the sudden departure of some of its key people. Development is a complicated process, though, and it's worth mentioning that even big names are just people. There's still plenty to keep BioWare going as it embraces this hopefully new chapter in its history. Now that the first month of 2021 is about to end, here are the important projects that fans should expect to see from BioWare this year.
Dragon Age 4
In 2018, BioWare announced at the Game Awards that it is developing the fourth installment in the Dragon Age 4. The announcement also came with a cryptic teaser about the Dread Wolf but very little else, as it was later learned the game was still very early in development (Project Morrison, that is, as Project Joplin had been canceled far earlier).
At the moment, Dragon Age 4 still has no official release date, despite its announcement nearly three years ago. However, at the Game Awards 2020, BioWare released another teaser for the game narrated by Varric that showcased some developers' concept art. Additionally, BioWare also shared a video of its developers, who shared their insights on how they plan to continue the story of Thedas and how the new protagonist is different from the Inquisitor in Dragon Age Inquisition. This update gave players a sigh of relief now that BioWare has given fans a clearer picture of what to expect. For 2021, it is anticipated that BioWare will finally share in-game footage of Dragon Age 4, an overview of its gameplay, and a sneak peek at some of its characters.
Mass Effect 4 and Mass Effect Remastered
One of the most shocking revelations at the Game Awards 2020 is the trailer for "The Next Mass Effect," which appears to be a direct follow-up to the original trilogy story. Given that this is the first time BioWare showed that it is making another Mass Effect game, its teaser was only a cinematic trailer, suggesting that it is years away from release. BioWare also confirmed in a tweet that the new Mass Effect game is in early development, so fans shouldn't expect anything significant to be announced this year.
However, fans of Mass Effect still have one thing to look forward to this year, and it is Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, a bundle that includes updated versions of the three mainline Mass Effect games. It is worth noting that the bundle does not have Mass Effect: Andromeda, and players should expect updated textures, models, and new features in the upcoming remaster. At the moment, there is still no exact release date for Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, but BioWare confirmed that it would launch in spring 2021 for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with "targeted upgades" for the PS5 and Xbox Series X.
Anthem 2.0
It is no secret that, among BioWare's franchises, Anthem is the most problematic. Ever since the game launched back in February 2019, it amassed wide criticism given that the game is riddled with bugs and glitches and its lack of content. Still, many believed that Anthem has so much potential, and a year after its release, BioWare confirmed that it is working on an Anthem overhaul. At the time, the studio was confident of giving Anthem another chance, especially with Casey Hudson at the helm. However, when Hudson left the company in December 2020, Christian Dailey, the lead developer of the Anthem reboot, was transferred to Dragon Age 4. This led to many fans growing worried about whether Anthem's revival would ever see the light of day.
Unfortunately, BioWare still hasn't announced anything about Anthem this year, and it is unclear who replaced Dailey after he departed from the project. Assuming that BioWare is still committed to the reboot of the game, it is expected that a roadmap will be announced soon, detailing the developers in charge of the project, timelines on development milestones, and more details on what to expect. However, should BioWare abandon the project altogether, players should expect a public cancelation of the project to be announced sometime this year.