BioWare revealed the first full look at its ambitious new game, Anthem, today at Microsoft’s E3 press conference. In Anthem, players will act as exosuit-wearing “freelancers” exploring a sci-fi open-world.
Game director Jon Warner presented the footage, which featured a quest to save a gang of fellow freelancers. The mission unfolded through an exploration of a lush, jungle-like area. “The world of Anthem is hostile, and threats can come from any direction,” Warner said. In addition to enemies in the wild, players will also have to be wary of dynamic weather events called “shaper storms.”
Anthem has been rumored as EA’s answer to games like Destiny. Casey Hudson, the executive producer on the original Mass Effect trilogy, founded a new team at BioWare Edmonton years ago to create the brand new IP. According to Kotaku, that project has long been codenamed Dylan, an indicator of the team’s lofty goal to make “the Bob Dylan of video games—one that would be referenced for years to come.”
At EA’s press conference yesterday, we got our first official look at the game: a brief trailer that teased a world in which players would “either live with the choices they make, or die trying to change them.”
EA CEO Andrew Wilson, in an earnings call in May, briefly touched on the progress of BioWare’s new action IP. “The game is built around a live service, and through our creative process, we've decided to add more to the disruptive new social designs for our players,” he said.
The game will launch in 2018.
