BioWare was once a leader in the video game industry, releasing critically-acclaimed hits like Baldur's Gate, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and the groundbreaking Mass Effect trilogy. However, the studio's latest efforts have been met with poor reviews, with Anthem in particular a failure for the studio. Unfortunately for BioWare fans upset by Anthem, there are some reports that its next game, Dragon Age 4, may be "Anthem with dragons."

"Anthem with dragons" is one way Dragon Age 4 has been described to Kotaku report Jason Schreier. Schreier has written a piece on Dragon Age 4's development following the explosive article that explained what went wrong with Anthem. Speaking to current and former BioWare employees, several people have given Dragon Age 4 the "Anthem with dragons" label.

However, there are some at BioWare that have pushed back against the Anthem with dragons label, but it seems as though BioWare itself isn't totally clear on what shape Dragon Age 4 will take in the coming years. One person said that it will change "five times in the next two years," which could be a sign that the lack of focus that hurt Anthem could also be having an impact on Dragon Age 4's development.

There have been reports in the past that Dragon Age 4 would be a live-service game, which could be where the Anthem comparisons are coming from. BioWare itself has suggested that any "live service" elements would just be expanding on the story, but the studio has also been hiring people with multiplayer experience, suggesting that at the very least, Dragon Age 4 will have multiplayer.

However, it's not all doom and gloom for Dragon Age 4. Dragon Age 4 is reportedly being developed by a BioWare dream team consisting of devs that worked on Baldur's Gate, Jade Empire, and past Dragon Age titles. And while the reports of Casey Hudson restarting Dragon Age 4 once he returned to the studio may be a sign of troubled development, perhaps this gave the game the new focus it needed to get off the ground.

Beyond a brief teaser trailer, we've seen nothing official about Dragon Age 4, and so it will be interesting to see what form it takes once it is finally revealed the public. With Anthem being such a flop with fans and critics alike, here's hoping Dragon Age 4 is able to turn things around for BioWare.

Dragon Age 4 is in development for unspecified platforms.

Source: Kotaku