The Tragedy of Anthem

Please consider supporting us on Patreon: After shipping Mass Effect 3 in 2012, Mass Effect Co-Creator Casey Hudson and a small group of BioWare developers embarked on a new journey, laying the foundation for an original IP codenamed Project Dylan. The Hudson-led crew at BioWare’s Edmonton headquarters hoped to craft the video game equivalent of Bob Dylan, a title the industry would reference and revere for many years. Project Dylan, later dubbed Anthem, got off to a promising start, thanks to an ideation phase brimming with ambitious possibilities. The team’s high hopes and equally high morale eventually faded, though, replaced by stress and deep confusion about the end goal. Mismanagement and numerous staff departures left Anthem in limbo for years. While fans and media were being wowed at trade shows with impressive concept art and vertical slices of gameplay, BioWare developers were navigating a production cycle beset by indecision and an undefined vision. It didn’t help