Anthem
Game
12 documents in the library are about Anthem, from writers such as Game Developers Conference, Extra Credits and Game Dev Unchained. Each has a summary and key insights with the page they come from.
Connections
The documents about Anthem on the inner ring, the other games and companies they name on the outer one. Select a cover to see it up close and open it in a new tab; drag to move, pinch or Ctrl + scroll to zoom.
Documents about Anthem
Where now for Mass Effect? Plus, Ken Kutaragi’s console fears and the rise of Poki
The gaming industry is currently navigating a period of profound structural transition, marked by the consolidation of major publishers and the emergence of alternative distribution models.
- Major publishers like Electronic Arts are pivoting toward live-service titles like EA Sports FC and Apex Legends, leading to studio closures such as BioWare and the cancellation of the Mass Effect franchise.
- Web-based gaming platform Poki has reached 100 million monthly users by utilizing an ad-supported, low-friction browser model that bypasses traditional mobile app store fatigue.
- Industry veteran Ken Kutaragi has expressed concerns regarding the long-term viability of high-end hardware, suggesting a shift toward lightweight, network-based systems that prioritize accessibility over raw processing power.
EA Shuts Down BioWare
Electronic Arts has officially shuttered the legendary game studio BioWare as part of a broader corporate reorganization and workforce reduction.
- Electronic Arts has officially closed BioWare as part of a corporate reorganization that includes 400 total job cuts, with 50 positions eliminated at the studio.
- The closure of BioWare results in the cancellation of the next entry in the Mass Effect franchise, which was in early-stage development.
- Dragon Age: The Veilguard sold approximately 1.5 million copies, failing to meet Electronic Arts' internal performance targets.
KLab Q1 2026 Financial Results: Q&A Summary
KLab’s Q1 2026 financial results Q&A session outlines a strategic pivot toward business diversification and global IP expansion.
- KLab maintains a full-year operating income forecast of 1 billion yen, prioritizing a conservative target to minimize the risk of downward revisions.
- The company is executing a dual-track strategy focused on global game releases based on anime/manga IP and new recurring revenue streams from GPU AI cloud services and VTubers.
- Development is ongoing for 'My Hero Academia UNITED SURVIVAL' and 'JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Anthem', while the previously announced hybrid casual project with Pocketpair, Inc. has been officially canceled.
Larian Loses the AI High Ground, Farewell to Anthem, and Minecraft Goes Mini! | Games For Breakfast
The gaming industry is currently navigating a period of intense friction between corporate efficiency mandates and a deeply skeptical player base.
- The gaming industry is experiencing a widening divide between AAA studios prioritizing shareholder-driven cost-cutting and indie developers who maintain a focus on human-led creative innovation.
- Generative AI integration in game development is facing significant player backlash, with critics arguing that reliance on AI tools leads to a regression in emotional resonance and craftsmanship.
- Labor instability remains a critical issue, highlighted by the closure of Ubisoft Halifax following unionization efforts and ongoing allegations of union-busting at Nintendo.
Stop Killing Games, Nuance, and Jobs! | Gaming News | Games For Breakfast
The video game industry is currently navigating a period of profound instability characterized by widespread corporate layoffs and a strategic pivot toward artificial intelligence.
- Microsoft has laid off 9,100 staff members as part of a broader industry-wide post-pandemic correction that has led to the cancellation of multiple high-profile projects.
- Consumer spending among the 18- to 29-year-old demographic has declined by 25%, driven by macroeconomic factors such as student debt and reduced disposable income.
- The 'Stop Killing Games' initiative has successfully triggered a formal review process within the European Union to address consumer concerns regarding the permanent loss of access to purchased digital software.
The $80 Game Era: 2025 Is Reshaping Gaming Economics
The article argues that 2025 marks a decisive shift toward higher game prices, declining live-service models, and a move away from traditional physical ownership.
- The AAA game price benchmark has increased by 14% to $80 for Nintendo Switch 2 launch titles, signaling a shift away from the previous $70 industry standard.
- Publishers are pivoting away from live-service models following high-profile failures like Suicide Squad and Babylon’s Fall, refocusing instead on single-player narrative titles such as GTA VI and Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
- Nintendo is introducing 'Game-Key Card' physical media, which contains digital download codes rather than game data, raising concerns regarding long-term ownership and collector value.
Shading the World of Anthem
The development of Anthem required a sophisticated approach to environmental rendering, necessitating a balance between high-fidelity visual complexity and the rigid performance constraints of the Frostbite engine.
- The development of Anthem utilized procedural shaders to simulate dynamic environmental phenomena like lava flows and precipitation while maintaining performance within the Frostbite engine.
- Lava rendering combined photogrammetry-derived textures, height maps, and flow maps to accurately replicate fluid movement and temperature-based color gradients.
- Weather systems achieved environmental reactivity by using world-space normals and layered ripple nodes to dynamically adjust surface properties like reflectance and porosity for rain and puddle accumulation.
Rocket Man: Creating Flight for Anthem
The development of flight mechanics in Anthem centers on the pursuit of a high-fidelity superhero fantasy, prioritizing intuitive, fluid movement over strict adherence to realistic physics.
- To solve the problem of players bypassing level design by flying over the map, BioWare implemented a heat-management system that forces players to navigate through cooling environments like waterfalls or water surfaces, turning traversal into a skill-based mechanic.
- The team abandoned realistic physics in favor of 'game feel,' utilizing a binary boost state that triggers immediate visual feedback—such as camera shake, field of view adjustments, and post-processing effects—to simulate speed while the character's actual velocity ramps up over time.
- To maintain consistent physics, the game capsule never rotates on the X or Z axes; instead, all banking, pitching, and rolling visuals are handled entirely through animation, requiring 27 unique base poses per suit to cover slow, medium, and fast flight speeds.
The Sound of Anthem
The development of Anthem’s audio landscape centers on the integration of high-tech, heroic action within a grounded, science-fantasy environment.
- The audio team utilized the Frostbite engine’s dynamic mixing capabilities to integrate mechanical precision with organic immersion across the game's science-fantasy environment.
- Javelin exosuit audio is generated through a layer-based system that maps real-time game parameters like velocity, pitch, and surface interaction to mechanical servos and thrusters.
- The modular design philosophy for the four Javelin classes—Colossus, Storm, Interceptor, and Ranger—enables high-fidelity movement feedback without requiring manual, bespoke editing for every animation.
BIG INDIE PITCH: MOBILE WINNERS | PGC Digital #1
The Big Indie Pitch, held during the inaugural Pocket Gamer Connects Digital conference in April, served as a global platform for mobile game developers to showcase their latest projects to industry experts.
- The Big Indie Pitch at the April Pocket Gamer Connects Digital conference featured 24 global developers presenting projects to 15 industry judges in a speed-dating format.
- The top honor was awarded to Paper Game, a platformer that utilizes a custom engine to allow users to generate levels by drawing on paper or photographing household objects.
- Rek Out was recognized for its potential as a couch multiplayer experience by blending mechanics from air hockey, breakout, and Rocket League.
DOTA Underlords, Anthem Still Alive, Blizzard Departures | Games ReCAP Episode 008
Valve’s recent launch of Dota Underlords demonstrates the enduring power of established franchises, as the title secured 174,000 concurrent users on Steam within its first 24 hours.
- Valve’s Dota Underlords achieved 174,000 concurrent Steam users in its first 24 hours, proving the market demand for streamlined, tactical gameplay adaptable to mobile.
- Major publishers are facing a critical juncture where the high financial risk of $200 million-plus AAA budgets is driving a necessary shift toward smaller, more agile, and highly replayable development strategies.
- The failure of projects like Anthem highlights the unsustainable nature of crunch culture and technical instability, prompting industry-wide calls to reduce project scope to mitigate financial and creative risk.
How BioWare’s Reaction to the Kotaku Report Went Wrong
The analysis examines the critical industry response to a 2019 investigative report regarding the troubled six-year development cycle of BioWare’s title, Anthem.
- A 2019 Kotaku report revealed that the development of Anthem was plagued by six years of indecisive management, constant changes to core mechanics, and the use of the Frostbite engine, which was ill-suited for the game's design.
- Anonymous accounts from 19 former and current BioWare employees described a toxic work environment characterized by understaffing and high rates of stress-related illnesses, leading to widespread depression and anxiety.
- BioWare’s official response to the report was widely criticized for being defensive, failing to address specific allegations, and dismissing the reported instances of crunch as non-existent.
Companies behind it
As the documents state it.