So, today, Anthem: Next, or the massive update that was supposed to fix all the issues that Anthem had, has been officially cancelled by Bioware. In their statement, they mention that they need to put resources towards their existing titles, mentioning SWTOR specifically. This means we should start seeing some sort up news updates or post by devs/community managers on fixing a lot of the issues that have maybe lacked the people resources. There is such a long list of issues with swtor, whether its pvp, pve, leveling, or just fundamental mechanics of rewards, etc... So, hopefully this is a good sign, since really this game has suffered for so long since 3.0 and on, and in a few short years, licenses will be up, alleged to not be renewed since other projects have already started with the green lights, and point towards a possibly closing/death of SWTOR within the next 3-4yrs. That is, unless this game can get back to being a quality game.

It'd be interesting to see where the dev resource allocation ends up going to. I'm sure DA and the next ME title are going to be the lions share but hopefully this means at least some resources or additional fiscal dedication to TOR

It actually saddens me that they give up on Anthem - it had great potential.

But since I like SWTOR more (obviously) I hope that we get more ressources.

I want to enjoy my favourite MMO for many more years

Jason Schreier reports the team is moving to Dragon Age.

Wow, this is great news! I hope SWTOR starts getting the attention it deserves.

So, today, Anthem: Next, or the massive update that was supposed to fix all the issues that Anthem had, has been officially cancelled by Bioware. In their statement, they mention that they need to put resources towards their existing titles, mentioning SWTOR specifically. This means we should start seeing some sort up news updates or post by devs/community managers on fixing a lot of the issues that have maybe lacked the people resources. There is such a long list of issues with swtor, whether its pvp, pve, leveling, or just fundamental mechanics of rewards, etc... So, hopefully this is a good sign, since really this game has suffered for so long since 3.0 and on, and in a few short years, licenses will be up, alleged to not be renewed since other projects have already started with the green lights, and point towards a possibly closing/death of SWTOR within the next 3-4yrs. That is, unless this game can get back to being a quality game.

 

source?

 

edit: i found the source in the reddit post

 

most people seem to be happy, because they think, this will bring more staff to swtor. but i doubt that. pandemic, a supposed to be big game crashed. i think, they will lay off some people. i can't share, the optimistic point of view, that swtor will rise.

Edited February 24, 2021 by SoontirMorillo

source?

 

edit: i found the source in the reddit post

 

For others, straight from the source https://blog.bioware.com/2021/02/24/anthem-update/

 

 

 

Honestly, I doubt SWTOR will get much. Anthem was primarily being done out of the Edmonton office IIRC and so resources are far more likely to be allocated to DA and ME accordingly

Base game yes but the post launch support and Anthem Next was Austin based afik.

 

Christian Dailey that broke the news is the BioWare Austin studio director as per articles I read as well.

 

As dirty as it may feel, we have to thank our lucky stars over this one. If BW Austin tripled its staff working on Anthem, at best that'd be new resources at BW Austin not spent on SWTOR and at worst further SWTOR developers moved over to that project... realistically a combination of both.

 

EA probably did the math and came to the conclusion that with SWTOR being a partially subscription service its better kept around from a financial standpoint.

 

This probably does not mean a SWTOR renaissance, but at least we can assume we're spared the bullet to the back of the head for a while longer.

It actually saddens me that they give up on Anthem - it had great potential.

But since I like SWTOR more (obviously) I hope that we get more ressources.

I want to enjoy my favourite MMO for many more years

 

I agree. I enjoyed my time playing Anthem. The flying was fun for me, and I liked trying out the different javelins. There obviously wasn't a ton of story content, but I thought some of the NPCs had potential, and I was interested to see what the devs would do with Fort Tarsis over time. I definitely would have tried the reboot.

 

I'll be surprised if the cancellation affects SWTOR much either way. As I understand it, the Anthem Next team was pretty small, and they will apparently be moving to Dragon Age.

Even if the spillover from Anthem being shelved means even just one more dev on SWTOR, all the better.

 

Edit: Also hopeful I'll be happily proved wrong and they'll have enough resources to carry out their changes to the starter planets they announced months ago.

Edited February 24, 2021 by xordevoreaux

For others, straight from the source https://blog.bioware.com/2021/02/24/anthem-update/

 

 

 

Honestly, I doubt SWTOR will get much. Anthem was primarily being done out of the Edmonton office IIRC and so resources are far more likely to be allocated to DA and ME accordingly

 

"Game development is hard. Decisions like these are not easy. Moving forward, we need to laser focus our efforts as a studio and strengthen the next Dragon Age, and Mass Effect titles while continuing to provide quality updates to Star Wars: The Old Republic.” (Christian Dailey)

 

The continuing to provide quality updates snippet has me more or less believing you are correct especially when placed after the Laser focus of DA and MA part.

Well, at least they didn't blame the players this time around. Maybe they are growing as humans. When the launch of swtor tanked they blamed players change in taste of games instead of their lack of knowledge of what mmo players want and launching a game that was not ready to launch.

 

We will see if swtor gets any love. On there website swtor is listed down the list with the solitaire game on the interns computer so I am not optimistic. They robbed swtor hard to the anthem thing and have starved swtor of any advertising for a long time. The whole steam thing was lucky timing which bought swtor some more time.

 

the post also had a qanon sounding ending. hope we aren't supporting some kind of cult.

 

swtor still has many years left in it if they see the light, learn from wow's missteps, and listen to players.

Edited February 26, 2021 by Drew_Braxton

Honestly, I doubt SWTOR will get much. Anthem was primarily being done out of the Edmonton office IIRC and so resources are far more likely to be allocated to DA and ME accordingly

 

True, staff reallocations will likely benefit DA and ME more than SWTOR, but terminating Anthem will also free up capital, which may benefit the game. BWA may be allowed to hire additional developers, or it may just mean more resources for the studio. We will just have to wait and see.

,

and in a few short years, licenses will be up, alleged to not be renewed since other projects have already started with the green lights, and point towards a possibly closing/death of SWTOR within the next 3-4yrs. That is, unless this game can get back to being a quality game.

I really hope that never happens. After all the players and time spent just gone. Tough to think about

People argued Anthem sucks

Anthem canceled

More resources for SWTOR

 

people still not happy,

 

doomsayer is a part of this community and one of the main reasons BioWare does not communicate enough with you lot,

 

Remember the official bioware social network? Guess why its closed long ago,

Wow, this is great news! I hope SWTOR starts getting the attention it deserves.

 

This, or something to this effect, has been said after quite a few events in recent years lol Shadow Realms cancelled, Battlefront II launch fiasco where it seemed like EA was gonna make DICE ax it, earning reports that showed SoR and or Kotfe having a largely positive response, Anthem's immediate launch day bomb, the closing of one of BioWare's studios (which I believe was the Andromeda or Anthem team's who only moved inhouse at Austin for continued support) and here we are.

 

It saddens me though, for all those devs went through to crank out a product that lacked a definitive vision under not so ideal circumstances, only to be dragged through the mud endlessly. The game had pieces for a very fun game and I do enjoy playing it every now and then but it definitely required a lot more content and polish if they wanted it to be what they were saying it was supposed to be. I'm also reminded of poor Andromeda, who had support cut before its first dlc that was pretty important to the story. Now that EA is supposedly letting the studios have more control over their projects, I'm only hoping (just a smidge) we eventually get something to help out Andromeda as an incomplete project and that Swtor gets some ACTUAL LOVE LIKE THE ALMOST BILLION DOLLAR GAME IT IS.

 

Starting a prayer circle for Keith to show up some day soon with a strong road map for my favorite dru- I mean game

There weren't that many people on Anthem to begin with. They will more than likely be going to DA or Mass Effect as those are the two "important" franchises.

"provide quality updates to Star Wars: The Old Republic."

 

AKA More Cartel updates and small content so we can recoup our losses. Don't expect after years of funds going to other projects for this too change much...their lazer focus will be on Mass Effect. Dragon Age just lost multiplayer that they have no doubt spent a huge amount of time on also.

SWTOR was budgeted X amount of money for the fiscal year, which probably wasn't much with the pandemic going on.

If any money or resources were freed up as a result of these other projects coming to a halt, then they will probably be held. I doubt SWTOR will see much, if any of it.

Just as long as the accounting department is safe.

On one hand, I feel bad for people that bought Anthem and committed time to it.

 

On the other hand, I had a lot of hostility towards the game because of the rumors that Austin devs had to chip in to get Anthem over the finish line. Not sure if that was 2017, but I remember it being a year that felt distinctly lacking in SWTOR content and I blamed Anthem.

 

I would love to see this game get some of those resources, but I suspect anything freed up will be going to the next big game for BW.

 

Just nervous at the lack of communication on a 2021 roadmap or any decent Cartel Market updates. I know between COVID and the storms that things are not going great in Austin, but without some insight into what they have planned, it makes one worry that the game is being gently walked into a loss of the license.

Oh you poor deluded fools thinking this means swtor gets more attention. Even the source specifically mentioned focusing on ME and dragon age.

"...while continuing to provide quality updates to Star Wars: The Old Republic"

 

The key word here is "continuing". I would guess they are ok with the current effort to revenue ratio, especially with the new steam users still consuming existing content and the old-timers being mostly kept via minor story updates and the cartel market. I don't expect much improvement quality- or quantity-wise tbh.

Edited February 26, 2021 by Mongorr

Yeah, I wouldn't be getting my hopes up. It's admittedly unusual that swtor even gets mentioned, but they always find a new shiny to pour the brunt of their resources into, and this won't be any different. If something does change for the better, we'll notice when it happens.

So, today, Anthem: Next, or the massive update that was supposed to fix all the issues that Anthem had, has been officially cancelled by Bioware. In their statement, they mention that they need to put resources towards their existing titles, mentioning SWTOR specifically. This means we should start seeing some sort up news updates or post by devs/community managers on fixing a lot of the issues that have maybe lacked the people resources. There is such a long list of issues with swtor, whether its pvp, pve, leveling, or just fundamental mechanics of rewards, etc... So, hopefully this is a good sign, since really this game has suffered for so long since 3.0 and on, and in a few short years, licenses will be up, alleged to not be renewed since other projects have already started with the green lights, and point towards a possibly closing/death of SWTOR within the next 3-4yrs. That is, unless this game can get back to being a quality game.

 

To be honest with you it is unlikely that bioware would do anything with this game. the engine is still in a beta phase version of the hero engine wich needs to be completly removed, and needs a solid, fix bug free stabel motor. that inclueds a full grafick overhaul as well. and animations, etc. so basicly it needs a ground up rebuild on a fix grafic and game engine mototrs. becasue the current one is just a sheet show.