Not too long ago, BioWare confirmed that a complete rework of its online multiplayer RPG Anthem--which released only a year ago--is in the works, leading to an eventual re-launching of the game. After a rough initial start for Anthem and a rough couple of years before that, it's clear that BioWare is hoping to salvage its first foray into multiplayer games and thereby get back on a successful track, but is that really BioWare's best bet for a return to success?
Before Anthem, BioWare made itself a worldwide name and reputation with both the Dragon Age and Mass Effect series, which were hugely successful (minus a snafu over the ending of Mass Effect 3 and a few smaller bumps in the road). But overall, both of those series are considered some of the best of the best where single-players RPGs are concerned even though most of them are getting relatively old by technology standards; still, fans have been wondering if BioWare plans to develop a remaster of the Mass Effect games since the first one launched in 2007.
So while BioWare (and by extent, its parent company Electronic Arts) appears to be focusing its efforts on its more recent and less-successful Anthem, arguably, perhaps a better goal would be to breathe a little life into BioWare's most beloved games of all time.
The Making of Anthem Next
Firstly, the announcement of this 'Anthem Next' overhaul begs the question: how much, and how urgently, is an Anthem Next even needed? Not a lot of details are available about what the Anthem remake is going to look like; whether it's going to be a whole new world that existing Anthem owners can get for a discount or a series of massive updates that progressively overhaul every aspect of the game. But on its first time around, Anthem's release wasn't nearly as hyped as, say, No Man's Sky, which is a game that made the same miraculous recovery BioWare is clearly hoping to engineer with Anthem.
No Man's Sky had a momentous rise and fall upon its release, but Anthem didn't--it was released with not nearly as much clamor around players, and quietly just didn't do well. One of the big reasons for that was the fact that not many people were expecting Anthem to do well in the first place, so when it didn't, they simply saw that they were right and moved on. That's not to say that Anthem can't be saved, or that BioWare shouldn't try: correcting the game's course is entirely possible and it makes sense that BioWare and EA would want that, but it might not be wise to make that the main focus right now.
The original Anthem generated nowhere near as much interest or excitement as the Mass Effect series, so it's not likely that Anthem Next will do so more. The game's existing players may be pleased, but if BioWare wants to bring back the excitement of the studio's fans overall, there's a better way to do that: by giving them remaster they've been craving.
Mass Effect's Long History of Remaster Rumors
Now let's talk about the Mass Effect trilogy: its last game, Mass Effect 3, released eight years ago in 2012 before Sony and Microsoft's current-gen consoles were even released, so a remaster of the game for current or even next-gen consoles would make perfect sense. Not only that, but fans have been wondering about a remaster of the series for roughly the last four years, on and off. Multiple times each year, "rumors" would make the rounds suggesting that BioWare was going to announce Mass Effect remastered soon, and every time, the rumors led to nothing.
Even now, when the most recent remaster rumor swept through last month in January 2020, fans are learning not to get their hopes up. But maybe they should be able to, because every time a rumor pops up, a huge wave of tentative hope sweeps through the many enduring fans of Mass Effect who still hope one day that they'll get to enjoy the games at today's quality. Back towards the beginning of these rumors, when BioWare was focusing the majority of its attention on developing Anthem the first time around, the studio's reasoning for not working on a remaster was that it preferred to look to the future. But right now that's obviously not what is happening, so if BioWare is going to finally go back and revamp something, it should let that something be Mass Effect.
Arguably, the fervor that surrounds every rumor is proof that if BioWare chose to take its focus in this direction and put Anthem on the back burner temporarily, the studio would get all the enthusiasm and attention it's hoping to generate and more.
Why Mass Effect Deserves a Remaster
Really, does this question even need answering? Of course, many fans are of the opinion that BioWare's focus should be split between bringing the next installments of both Mass Effect and Dragon Age to fruition (and yes, that would be phenomenal), but whether or not it ends up coming before or after that, the three original Mass Effect games absolutely deserve to be remastered at some point in the future--especially with next-gen consoles on the horizon. Should BioWare release a remaster of the trilogy around the same time as the Xbox Series X and PS5 dropped, it certainly wouldn't be surprising if sales went through the roof.
As fans of the trilogy already know, Mass Effect didn't just earn success or even acclaim: it changed the playing field of storytelling RPGs. Mass Effect 2, in particular, is still recognized as one of the best RPGs of all time, though all of the games usually rank somewhere on the list, and the trilogy is far too widely beloved to be left with only the Xbox 360, PS3, and old PC editions. Not only would a remaster of the trilogy reignite fans' love of the series and of BioWare's work, but it'd also be a perfect precursor to introducing whatever comes next in the franchise.
Whatever BioWare does next, it's clear than most fans' focus isn't really on Anthem. If a BioWare producer so much as tweets the words "Dragon Age," the whole of Twitter explodes. Every November 7, N7 Day, fans hold their breath and cross their fingers that the rumor they heard about BioWare finally announcing its Mass Effect remasters is really true this time.
An Anthem overhaul can happen, and after all the work put into the game, it probably should, but all in good time. For BioWare's fanbase to be fully mobilized and raring to go, the studio and EA should consider giving them the thing they've asked for time and time again: the Mass Effect trilogy polished and primed for today's technology.