Anthem (video game)

Anthem is an upcoming online multiplayer action role-playing video game being developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts. The game is slated for a worldwide release for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on February 22, 2019. Players will assume the role of a Freelancer, one of a group of people who leave their civilization to explore the surrounding landscape.

Gameplay
Anthem combines third-person shooter and action role-playing game elements in a "contiguous open world" shared with up to three other players in which they take the role of a Freelancer donning fully customizable exosuits called Javelins. These suits can be customized to have various unique weapons and superhuman abilities. Two classes of Javelins were shown during Anthem's presentation at Microsoft's E3 2017 Conference: the Ranger, which is an all-around and balanced Javelin, and the Colossus, which is a larger and more heavily armored Javelin made to fill in more of a tanking role. Other Javelins include the Storm, which uses powerful technology to unleash the "rage of the hymn" while floating effortlessly in the air, and the Interceptor, which is focused on close-quarter combat and can move quickly into and out of combat. Players can build relationships with various non-playable characters, but they cannot establish romantic relationships with them, as was a trademark of previous BioWare games. The central meeting point of the game takes place in Fort Tarsis, the central stronghold of Anthem. Built by the eponymous General Helena Tarsis, it serves as a fortified settlement against the threats of the outside world and is also the point where the player goes to receive new missions and freelance assignments. It is a melting pot where all the different factions of the game meet, including the Sentinels, Corvus, Cyphers, and Arcanists.

The game features both single-player and co-operative multiplayer elements in a "shared world" that can have up to four squad members per team. Teams can fight savage beasts and ruthless marauders while exploring lost ruins and experiencing massive, world-altering terrain occurrences, such as "Shaper Storms".

Development
Development of the game started in 2012, immediately after the release of Mass Effect 3, under the supervision of Casey Hudson, the executive producer of the original Mass Effect trilogy. Although Hudson left BioWare in 2014, the development on Anthem continued until he returned as both the project lead and the new studio head in 2017. Prior to the announcement of the game's final title, the project was codenamed "Dylan" internally by BioWare.

Drew Karpyshyn worked on the game's writing before leaving in early 2018. The game's soundtrack was composed by Sarah Schachner.

Marketing and release
BioWare Edmonton teased the game at E3 2014. Anthem was teased during EA's EA Play pre-E3 press conference on June 10, 2017. Gameplay was demonstrated for the first time during Microsoft's E3 press conference, the next day running on Xbox One X.

At E3 2017, when the game was announced, its intended release date was Q4 2018, but was pushed back in January 2018 to early 2019, in part to make space on EA's release schedule for a new Battlefield title in late 2018 release. According to Patrick Söderlund, EA's vice president, BioWare plans to support the game with new content and updates long after the game's official release, and that its launch will be "the start of maybe a 10-year journey" for BioWare.