Anthem: BioWare's Casey Hudson Celebrates New Alpha Status With New Heartfelt Message

BioWare's upcoming online action-RPG has hit a new milestone and General Manager Casey Hudson couldn't wait to share the good news, as well as a look back on how much the studio has grown through the years.

The latest IP from BioWare has just passed its Alpha while the team continues to make profound progress on their latest adventure. "It was 20 years ago when I joined BioWare – September 8, 1998," began Hudson in his latest blog post. "I had just finished my degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta and found out through a local TV show that there was a videogame studio right here in Edmonton. I spent the summer talking with the founders, Greg and Ray, about joining BioWare as a Technical Artist, and they offered me a job."

He then went on to reflect about BioWare's humble beginnings as a small studio with a passion for a little game called Baldur's Gate. Hudson was an artist for the studio at the time and was his first taste of the online experience with BioWare.

"I was impressed with the vision for the game: recreating on the PC the experience of playing pen and paper D&D with friends. Being able to adventure together with your friends as a team of heroes, even if they are playing from another city or country, was a magical experience – and one that made a strong impression on me about our mission as a studio. We knew we had something special. Baldur's Gate had fun gameplay, impressive visuals and rich storytelling with memorable characters. And beyond that, we were excited about its potential to bring players together."

20 years later, and we're back and Hudson expressed that he's feeling the same feeling now as he did back then.

"Last week, the Anthem team passed its Alpha milestone – meaning that every part of the game is in, and functioning. It's a ton of fun to play, and full of engaging character moments and storylines."

He added, "But it's also exciting to see people around the office (and at our partner studios) grouping together for adventures in this new world we've created. BioWare games have always been about capturing a shared experience – whether through a party of fictional characters or other players – and somehow the idea of players being immersed together in the universe of Anthem makes the setting seem even more real."

The energy at the studio is buzzing once more, reminiscent of those Baldur's Gate memories. Now that the Alpha has been passed, it's time to fine-tune the adventure before it releases Feb. 22, 2019, for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows 10 PC.