One of this year’s most anticipated titles has to be Anthem, legendary western RPG maker BioWare’s first attempt at a massively multiplayer online shooter in the vein of Destiny. The only issue is that, consistent with some burgeoning rumors, the project will no longer be released in 2018.
Here’s the story in question by Kotaku, which alleges that the overwhelmed studio has set almost every developer on the project and believes that “the company’s future is inextricably tied to this game.” While sources quoted in the story express optimism for the game’s quality, it seems most are under no illusions about the mountain of work that stands between them and release, including planned beta and EA Early Access periods that will undoubtedly lead to more work from the besieged developer.
However, EA wants you to know that situation surrounding Anthem is just peachy—and it’s not even really a delay, per se. They’re just pushing the game back to a later date so as to not compete with a new Battlefield title scheduled for October. This terminology has raised few eyebrows, as the gaming public is smart enough to know a delay when they see it. Destructoid also notes that EA hasn’t traditionally had a problem putting two of its titles on the market in the same quarter; October 2016 saw the release of both Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2.
Whatever the reasons, Anthem will not see the light of day until early 2019—even though EA will debate you on the specifics over what to call that. It’s disappointing that the wait will be longer, but due to the ambition of the project and the previous results of a hectic and rushed BioWare game (looking at you, Mass Effect: Andromeda), it will likely be time well taken.