BioWare's Casey Hudson Addresses Andromeda DLC Frustration and Hopeful Glimpse into Anthem

BioWare has underwent many changes over the years, with many recent shifts including long-time veterans moving onto other projects. With such a powerful past with titles like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, and the iconic Mass Effect trilogy, there is a lot of history and a lot of love there. When the studio struggled with the Mass Effect Andromeda launch due to a brand new and green team, resource cuts, and various other issues, many were worried that this marked the end for the highly respected developer. When their publisher EA shifted all hands on deck towards their upcoming online Anthem title, those worries only increased. Luckily, BioWare's Casey Hudson is here to set a few things straight while also going down memory lane a little bit.

Hudson took to the BioWare blog earlier today to give a timeline regarding his history within BioWare while also giving a studio update for Anthem. Promising that the upcoming experience will "be unlike anything you've played, but if we do it right, it will feel very distinctly BioWare," the General Manager had a lot to say.

He began his message on a reflective note:

"It's going to be an exciting year. There's so much going on that I wanted to set up a blog where I can share some thoughts and news with you directly. This is the first entry in a series where I'd like to talk about our vision for BioWare, what that means for our upcoming titles, and share some stories about development as we head towards the launch of Anthem.

I started at BioWare 20 years ago. I've worked on several of our titles, most notably as the Producer/Director of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and the Mass Effect Trilogy. A few years ago, I took some time away to try something different, and had an amazing experience working at Microsoft on mixed-reality and HoloLens. But the Great White North called me home once again when I was offered the opportunity to return to BioWare as General Manager. The idea of leading the company that I was part of building for so long, and returning to work on the game worlds that I love, was one I couldn't pass up."

Hudson then began to dive into the wildly known frustration regarding story DLC for Mass Effect Andromeda, "When I returned to BioWare last summer, Mass Effect: Andromeda had just been released and there was a significant movement among players asking for a story DLC that would answer questions surrounding the fate of the quarians." He added, "As you know, we were not able to deliver story DLC for Andromeda—this was as frustrating for us as it was for players, and it was something we knew we had to solve in future games."

The above struggle was a "defining moment" for the company, reflected Hudson. "That experience ultimately became a defining moment in refocusing BioWare's mission. We need to delight players with new experiences and innovation, but we must stay focused on the importance of the world, character, and storytelling elements that players expect from our games. And our games must be designed to continue delivering new stories and experiences, in an ongoing relationship with players in the worlds we're evolving together."

"It's in that spirit that we are working through production on Anthem–a game designed to create a whole new world of story and character that you can experience with friends in an ongoing series of adventures. It will be unlike anything you've played, but if we do it right, it will feel very distinctly BioWare."

We'll be learning more about Anthem at this year's E3 and as a longtime BioWare fan myself, I hope that Hudson is correct that it will feel "distinctly" like the brand because it's given me some of my most cherished gaming memories throughout the years.