BioWare has now focused most of its man power on completing its latest title Anthem. The developer has still devoted couple of small teams with the upkeep of Star Wars: The Old Republic and developing the next Dragon Age. But, the majority of the developer’s staff in both Edmonton and Austin have now focused their attention on Anthem. The new action RPG was initially announced at E3 2017 with a fall 2018 release date and received a lot of attention from fans. However, the title is now set to release in early 2019.
News sources doubt that EA will allow them to delay the game any further than that due to their fiscal year ending around the same time. According to these sources, the fall 2018 release window that was shown during the game’s reveal trailer was “never a realistic one.” The exact dates are currently unknown, and the developers still have to plan for a beta release, EA access, and a patch schedule. The game has been in development since 2012, and development has really sped up over the last year.
It seems that BioWare is definitely feeling the pressure to make this game a hit. After Mass Effect: Andromeda’s poor performance, which led to a whole rebuild of BioWare’s Montreal studio, there is a sense that the company’s future will hinge on Anthem‘s success level. Kotaku reports, “There’s a belief that if Anthem doesn’t live up to EA’s expectations, BioWare will look very different in the future.”