Anthem Investigation Exposes Troubled Development & Leadership Failures

SOURCE: kotaku.com/how-biowares-anthe...
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[@YongYea]

Bioware devs found out what Anthem will be like the same day gamers did. Just let that sink in. Show your support on Patreon.com/YongYea or PayPal.me/YongYea, and you can also follow me on Twitter.com/YongYea for the latest updates. TOP PATRONS [CIPHER] - Thelionsam [BIG BOSS] - maxandalec2 - BobaFett912 - Daniele Andreuzzi - FreedTerror - Solid Jake - Vin Giorgio [BOSS] - Peter Vrba - Time Dragonlord - Alex Moretti - Joe Hunt - Patrick - Jonathan Ball - Michael Redmond [LEGENDARY] - BattleBrit - Abdulaziz al Senaidi - D Kurtti - Mike Li - Denver Harward - FIFTHGRADE - BattleBladeWar - centrevez vectra - Gerardo Andrade - Michael P. Reid - David Doty - Mark Taylor - Prismat Dragoon - Darien Cunningham - Princess Stabbity - Jake Betts

[@jondeiconic2552]

Welp let us wait and see what is the answer.

[@seriade]

The fact bioware made swotor i have little sympathy for their issues as that game literally had most of the issues Anthem has. Senior EA and Bioware need to be terminated for this garbage and if they are not willing to do this it is not worth supporting the dev.

[@solonepeon5805]

Too many open world game developments is what is killing this gaming industry.

[@shadushio9682]

Bioware is dead. But it doesn't hurt much, because of CDPR's existence.

[@gadunka245]

Without EA (Patrick Söderlund) thinking the game was crap, there wouldn't have been a flight mechanic. Let that sink in.

[@mastergecko1178]

E3 2017 demo ended. Players: Ooo so this is the game they were making, looks interesting. Devs: Ooo so this is the game we are gonna make, looks interesting.

[@AbsoluteBlackZer0]

#dead

[@Eienlanzer]

This could be a FarSide Comic.

[@asujeto-7179]

#oralive4

[@mrm7058]

I don't remember many players saying the demo looks interesting, but a lot of people commented the demo looked dull, uninspired and boring. Many had the hope that the game would be better, but ....

[@lofiseeker1790]

Lmfao

[@dandylion1987]

A wise person once told me "people don't leave jobs, they leave managers". Rings true here

[@Texelion3Dprints]

This person never worked in a shitty factory.

[@propheci]

Damn, that is excellent. I'm stealing that one...

[@NormanReaddis]

Because of egotistical bosses that makes the workplace a living hell Boss are very different from A Leader

[@scottmurphy4946]

a good crew and boss makes shitty work days tolerable to work though toxic crew/bosses make easy days intolerable

[@stranded_ninjagaming5215]

They were speaking facts

[@crane8819]

It's kind of ironic that the best part of Anthem (flying) is in the game because of Patrick Soderlund lol.

[@Pastafari4]

Granted, if it wasn't already devolving no flying might have been better

[@Rhino1004]

Sadly, the game was never supposed to be built around flying, yet flight STILL ended up being the best part. Everything that wasn't flying, the primary focus - it just didn't even exist. Just incredible.

[@filipevasconcelos4409]

@@Rhino1004 Imagine messing something up so ROYALLY that your off-hand idea becomes the best thing about your work

[@kriegaone3658]

I played the Anthem beta and the only part I liked was the flying

[@gastonbell108]

It's a shitty sign when an EA corporate suit is making wiser design decisions than the creative geniuses at Bioware. That half decade they squandered was not free; nothing ever is. They killed their golden goose ("Bioware Magic") to pay for that little vacation, and now they have neither magic nor money.

[@CaptainHillyan]

TL:DR. Anthem had only 1.5 years of actual work done to it. Not 7.

[@baicaibangx]

Hillyan sounds like the devs worked for 5.5 years without knowing what they should be making and then most of their works are scrapped and they have to start over after E3 2017

[@blarghmcblarghson1903]

Last time Bioware spent so little time actually making the game, they plopped out Dragon Age 2. No wonder Fort Tarsis reminded me so much of Kirkwall.

[@foist101]

Such a common story in the AAA industry. Bioware is genuinely massively talented, it would be amazing to see what they could do while properly managed.

[@urklenurkle]

foist they are owned be EA so you’ll never see it

[@Mr0901]

@@urklenurkle EA did shove their hands with frostbite and stuff, but they still gave them 7y of time which BioWare itself misused. Can't just blame EA, Bioware has to learn itself

[@S0ulGh0st]

When your employees are having major mental breakdowns, crying in the workplace and leaving for months, you either correct your management or you're a monster.

[@cesasatriaanwar1360]

@Oceanic Dangernoodle Did you intentionally put anthem and battlefield in your reply?

[@RunFromCities]

@@cesasatriaanwar1360 if not I would say it's a happy coincidence.

[@shadowangel5547]

But that is the entirety of the gaming Industry, crunch contributes to that. The only difference is some companies have better leadership and alleviate it better but the problem will still be there nonetheless. Bioware just happens to be ran worse.

[@debsreno911]

@@marcosdheleno That would be the BioWare higher ups doing that...but yeah pretty much what I picture going on in that environment. I can imagine the added stress being put on them daily by these asshats.

[@anitacigarette]

I honestly thought of my former job. Had to walk out recently because of the same crap.

[@aivreescend7945]

Audience at e3 : so was it like... An open world shooter looter thing? Bioware : eh, we can't disclose anything at the moment. Bioware staff at the back : write that down! Write that down!!

[@axle1717]

😂😂😂😂😅😂😂😂

[@uedarizaru]

we need to copy WarFrame and Destiny! Quick, make that happen!

[@Jevgein]

in hindsight it's incredible and true

[@Jevgein]

@@uedarizaru 6:30

[@ghosface353]

@@uedarizaru But DON'T mention Destiny to higher ups.

[@gtlegacy8]

At 2017 E3 Gamers: Wow thats the game? BioWare: Oh Shit thats the game?

[@ThexXxXxOLOxXxXx]

Lol exacly 😂

[@jayfrmbrklyn4543]

😂

[@icarus212001]

I think we all need to adopt the following mentality: If the game isn't coming out within the year, treat every trailer and demonstration as a teaser or proof of concept. This shit has been going on for too long, and publishers are getting away with too much.

[@doccomeau2770]

If they can't release the game as they promised we shouldn't pay for it, should get refunds, they should be fined for false advertisement. Just scrap the project, take the hit and move onto the next one. If you can't afford to take the financial hit from failure you shouldn't have experimented in the first place.

[@danny90099]

Scam citizen still making money by idiot

[@isaacdiogenes3382]

Honestly,"the bermuda triangle" of the universe sounds way more interesting than the whole story anthem received

[@NivMizzet89]

Sure, but don't forget that everything about Anthem sounds better than what was delivered. The entirety of Anthem is a pile of vaguely interesting ideas, ruined beyond repair in an endless river of mismanagement and bad decisions. A 'Bermuda Triangle' version of Anthem would've been botched just badly as what they actually made.

[@Zergliskful]

That description makes me think of Evolve as a PvE experience, with a bit of Tomb Raider 2013 thrown in. The poor suckers who bought Anthem got that mess instead.

[@winstonsmith3703]

Yeah I totally agree! They could take inspiration from that one planet that takes anything that goes missing in warp drive ends up in thor ragnarok when watching that movie I thought it would be a great setting for a game.

[@damienscott6561]

The Bermuda Triangle of the universe sounds like side quest for Mass Effect 2. As a matter of fact, the whole Omega-3 relay storyline was exactly that.

[@OneReallyGrumpyJill]

Sci-fi Dark Souls would've been neat.

[@DragonRaiderX9]

To quote Jim Sterling "Crunch is not a triumph of the workforce, it's a failure of the management".

[@unknownanonymous2651]

Which is better than his other quotes like,"Harder Daddy!" Or "*Crunch Snap Slurp* BRING ME MORE DEEP FRIED BUTTER!" or "It spreads it on it's skin or else it gets the hose again!"

[@Razer5542]

@@unknownanonymous2651 Lmao.

[@Mether666]

Big oof

[@Braindeadevilash]

@@unknownanonymous2651 I know, when is going to fold up from a heart attack? It can't be too far, I'm porky but dear god, he puts the morbid into morbid obesity.

[@MiningwithPudding]

I may not like him, but he's right on at least one thing...

[@JohnLee-kl4tc]

Im sorry bioware employees, i know your pain. I work in retail and i've said if your employees aren't happy your service, products, productivity, and overall consumer experience is gonna suffer. It always begins with management.

[@DD-fs7pg]

Agreed. I work with software development and I know the pain of how management can make things so much more difficult. The problems with crunch and interacting with other teams, unrealistic expectations, last minute revisions, and lack of communication and feedback.

[@nowonmetube]

Gamestop?? 🤔🤔

[@shupasopni]

@Robert L I imagine you must have a lot of experience with Video Game development. What are the challenges that you face working on games that makes these people seem pampered?

[@tylerulfmann4586]

Robert L yeah because working 126 hours a week for two to three years only to get fired or a pay downgrade leads to such happiness and care free existence

[@Oroberus]

No reason to be sorry for any BioWare staff. They knew what changes and problems they'll see in the future as soon as EA bought them. If you don't leave, there's noone else to blame then yourself or to make it more direct: If you sign up with the Mafia and you don't expect to get shot, you're an imbecile. EA isn't driving studios into the ground just for one or two years, it's closing in to be 20 years of constant buying, chewing them up, spitting them out.

[@bvrutally_odd]

"Remind yourself that overconfidence is a slow, and insidious killer" -Wayne June. Narrator of Darkest Dungeon

[@DJFlare84]

"Overconfidence... is a flimsy shield." ~Zenyatta, Overwatch.

[@cherrydragon3120]

Tell that to bioware, EA, activision, Bethesda, Ubisoft... God the gane industry is falling apart by their own fucking greed

[@blacklabel130]

@@DJFlare84 ew overwatch, that supposed new MMO... recycled into a TF2 wannabe

[@DamienDarksideBlog]

@@cherrydragon3120 - EA has other studios and APEX has given them a fuck ton of money. FIFA is still bringing in a billion dollars. EA may be evil, but they make cash. - Activision just invested in other companies and is already getting back on "track" (for them). The released Destiny and are looking for more IPs. They are doing fine. - Bethesda released ONE bad game... but it cost so little with recycled assets that they can declare it a financial success. They probably have a decent playerbase for Fallout 76 after patches and are still making updates. TES VI already has put FO76 in the back of majority of people's minds and the hype train has begun again. They are doing fine. Also it didn't take six years of fucking around and one year of development, which greatly reduces costs. Also Todd Howard has admitted that FO76 was a mess, but actually has put out a more detailed roadmap than Bioware, which is a stark contrast to Bioware claiming that the article was a lie. I'll take a company that admits they were wrong and want to improve over a company with their head so far up their own ass they could eat lunch twice. - Ubisoft has been investing in their older games (For Honor, Rainbow Six) and now they have more players than ever, their April Foll's event has pleased the majority of the playerbase and they are doing a great job. Even on their "off" games like FC: New Dawn they sell it for less instead of a whole AAA price. Division 2 released at the PERFECT time (Anthem's failure is Division 2's advertising), is feature complete and was reviewed well (85% metacritic PC). The only studio that is fucked right now is BioWare, and that is 100% their own fault with mismanagement. If I was EA I'd be fucking pissed that I have been paying this studio for over 5 years and they had NOTHING to show for it. They forced a date, replaced the management for someone who could actually get a product out the door and try to get some ROI.

[@painovoimaton]

HoW qUicKLy ThE TiDe TurnS!!!!!!!

[@lelouchyagami3185]

It's like a school project that you made 3 hours before presentation

[@pizza9798]

My rushed school projects were better than anthem.

[@sulijoo]

Or telling extravagant lies on your CV and then getting caught out during your interview.

[@7thsealord888]

A school project made 3 hours before presentation - with different parts of it being done in different rooms with minimal communications between them, with the requirements and scoring being changed at random several times throughout. In the entire history of making absolutely anything, that approach has NEVER gone well.

[@AdventurerOfOblivion]

With 7 years to do it.

[@pingdragonify]

With 99% done by u while ur other project mates create the title page.

[@pegasusdrive12]

"cost of transparency" they weren't transparent to their own employees let alone consumers.

[@Tylericous]

I feel so bad for those employees who were actually trying to do their job and give feedback but we’re fucked by management that always shot them down and rebooted everything. Also feel bad for the Houston team that was ignored and now has to fix the mess

[@forgetivestuff8451]

Thats the cost of bad leadership.

[@sequorroxx]

"cost of transparency" Such an obvious "we are sorry we were too good for you" non-apology.

[@loyal-tf-fan]

I’m studying for a career in film the idea of not telling the crew everything is apparent as well. Some people try to sell their project but save the big twist, which is counterproductive and our teacher made sure to get it out of them. This is apparent to many creative people out of fear of being completely shot down, you really need to get over that in order to work properly in the future.

[@gungan5822]

They should have been transparent about how they didn't know wtf they were doing.

[@gargamellenoir8460]

"Bioware magic" was fancy speak for "the peons will sacrifice their time and health to make up for our incompetence, and we'll reap the rewards".

[@pacoramon9468]

Is like the story of the shoemaker and the elfs if the shoemaker was an asshole.

[@manchesterunitedno7]

@@pacoramon9468 Or Santa and his helpers. Or Jobs and everyone at Apple.

[@matthewhoffman7082]

"A delayed game is eventually good, a rushed game is forever bad" -Shigeru Miyamoto However, knowing that the more competent studio has taken over gives me hope that it might be a game worth playing someday.

[@cherrydragon3120]

Lol keep dreaming... as long anthem is under EA games jurisdiction... it will never be good

[@matthewhoffman7082]

Well, to be fair, I did say "might" ;)

[@Alfredsks]

Well EA did gave them 7 years to develop it, how long are they expecting to delay the game

[@Uldihaa]

@@cherrydragon3120 Nah, this is entirely on Bioware. They fucked up, continued to fuck up, and eventually EA had to yank the lead guy off DA-4 to try to at least get something out in time. Bioware lacks leadership, and this makes that abundantly clear. This leadership failure is Bioware's fault, and no one else.

[@jameschou888]

Duke nukem forever

[@xdeadshockx1861]

Q:What the hell went wrong? A: Everything.

[@bradlyharris7487]

Eh, atleast the graphics are decent haha

[@Vicous528]

@@bradlyharris7487 Nah! Even Horizon Dawn Zero had WAAAYY better graphics. Witcher 3, too.

[@Heillios]

@The One-Man Army "Anthem takes place in a world left unfinished by the gods" now its not just a meme its reality

[@xdeadshockx1861]

@@bradlyharris7487 Good graphics don't excuse a terrible game. But I have to agree, the scenery IS very cool.

[@RodaMoonknight]

Teacher: you have one year to do your final project Bioware: ok *11 months and 2 weeks later* Bioware: oh shoot the project!

[@Ushiwakamaru_BAU_BAU]

Basically that was the situation

[@alphach1mp]

It's like studying the night before the exam... What could go wrong?

[@libo2000]

Bioware Management: *shoots project*

[@franciscocataldo9238]

@@alphach1mp nah.u can still ace it, but u'll forget everything later

[@richardvondragonheart9769]

Sadly thats the situation for the 2nd time. I at this point don't even expect a good DA game from them if they will make a good one then I'll be happy if they won't then it won't be a supprise for me and I'll just acknowldege that "Yup this company gonna die.... and I won't feel anything bad for it"

[@flaviagoncalvesfonseca2881]

This already happens with Mass Effect 3 (ending),Mass Effect Andromeda ( 18 months production and frosbite ),Dragon age 2 (repetitive places). So no, Bioware does not learn from its mistakes.

[@hariman7727]

It's not Bioware. It's biowarEA.

[@ArseneGray]

Dragon Age 2 was a good game.. And ME3 Ending is not that bad, players have just no idea what they want. Bioware started to fuck up with DA:I and not before... period

[@gastonbell108]

@@hariman7727 Did you not pay attention to anything in the video? Bioware leadership did this to itself. EA didn't force Casey Hudson to be a millionaire who sucks at his job.

[@hariman7727]

@@gastonbell108 have you not paid attention to the fact that a lot of the BioWare devs who originally made BioWare into the BioWare everyone knows and loves are gone? have you not paid attention to the sheer number of times Electronic Arts has caused massive problems after buying out a studio or a property and then left the franchise to rot?

[@-Clueless-]

“This wasn’t the game he had been promised” The quote still stands as of today.

[@jasminelee1909]

omg the "stress casualty" was actually pretty fucking sad to hear

[@markcobuzzi826]

Seriously, if George Carlin was still alive, that would have been a perfect addition to his standup comedy routine on grotesque euphemisms.

[@Jerghaal]

This is nothing new, I was QA for one of these despicable triple aaa companies. Half the time is spent testing in crunch time, sometimes even more yearly. I left because the depression was too much, for even me, to handle.

[@cherrydragon3120]

Ikr. Says ALOT about the company itself

[@heisamonster]

Mark Cobuzzi so true. That term sounds like it comes from a 12 minute rant of truth.

[@iller3]

yeah bullshit, so they sensationalized up a new word for BURNOUT.... happens literally to EVERYONE, they're not _special_

[@bacoloidlizar7417]

anthem devs: they always ask "what are you doing", but never "how are you doing" rip

[@asagaetis]

You know, that suddenly makes a lot more sense.

[@omarmks6670]

So then you tell them you're fine. But you're not fine. But you just can't get into it. Because they would never understand...

[@BiTheBooks]

This isn't _Bioware_ This is _Malware_ And what do we do with malware? We delete it before it can do anymore harm to the system.

[@hariman7727]

It's biowarEA. Those last two letters mean more than all the others.

[@7Marx7]

Funny. That's exactly what EA's thinking, too.

[@the13thjoker]

Even Malware doesnt break your SSD.

[@bermudabarracuda1902]

I love how the LEADERSHIP apparently talks about that "BioWare magic". Yeah. Thanks to the people with stress and anxiety issues working under you. Who work their asses off to make something work somehow during that crunch time according to the article.

[@zeromailss]

3:30 "a game that players would talk about for years to come." I mean, they are not wrong, just not the way they want it to be

[@RunFromCities]

I mean now everyone is talking about how bad this game is that it kills your console........

[@EarthPrime52]

@@RunFromCities it has made some ps4's have to rebuild system files before starting up, and technically it doesn't brick the console. However, how many of those are you willing to risk before the hd suddenly has a bad sector or just doesn't work anymore?

[@agentghost7447]

I remember the people who worked on Evolve said the same thing & we all saw how that ended

[@songogu9]

Oh we'll definetly talk about the game for years to come. Not for the reason they wanted us to, but we will. Guess they succeed at something

[@asagaetis]

That was exactly how Jason Schrier closed his initial article, lol.

[@xpowerlegendx]

Developpers that are having mental breakdowns.. What kind of management and Leadership is that?

[@Lethargy514]

A lack of it. That's for sure.

[@xpowerlegendx]

@Mi Ke But isn't it time to change things? I'm very happy for you that all is well, but you can't say the same for every developper. I think something should be done with mental health in developper studios

[@grindcoreninja6527]

@Mi Ke Unfortunately, in the States the idea of any retirement is a distant dream. If you break mentally, companies see you as a replaceable cog in a machine.

[@Droogie128]

Typical of giant corporations nowadays.

[@GhostCell47]

@@grindcoreninja6527 This is America, after all.

[@johnbach2380]

Wow... has there ever been a fall this hard of a developer? The original Star Wars KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Mass Effect Trilogy... now this? SAD.

[@mathieuosakue8449]

No kidding 😢

[@mikedavids742]

@Tom The Fish Nintendo, obsidian, Gearbox?! Are you dumb?

[@Strausburg]

@@mikedavids742 Obsidian and Gearbox probably due to exclusivity deals with the devil (Epic). No idea why they have beef with Nintendo though. Probably one of the last companies that care about making a game fun.

[@WeebMasterYoda]

@Tom The Fish Capcom seems to be redeeming themselves lately. Besides sfv and mvci all their recent games have been pretty good

[@ra6765]

@Tom The Fish more like the year when game devs stop caring about their customers and start satisfying their shareholders instead.

[@Razatanx7]

So basically the developers found out what kind of game they were making when they saw the E3 trailer.😂😆😂

[@no1bandfan]

Content wasn’t stripped to sell it at a later date. They barely had enough content to ship a game.

[@NormanReaddis]

It's still the same They still release a husk of a game

[@pelinalwhitestrake1176]

no1bandfan There are still skins from previous livstreams that aren’t in game. More likely they made a bunch of skins and said “Hey we need to stretch these out Bc it’s gonna be a while till we work on them again” so they stripped them Bc they had to monetize something

[@saxor96]

@@pelinalwhitestrake1176 I wouldn't be surprised if those skins are completely scrapped and will never apear in the game.

[@saxor96]

@@pelinalwhitestrake1176 I wouldn't be surprised if those skins are completely scrapped and will never apear in the game.

[@pelinalwhitestrake1176]

Saxor KH I wouldn’t be surprised tbh

[@MyNameIsSonsky]

Ouch.. felt sorry for the hardworking devs under Bioware.. i hope these people could find a better company

[@jemmascott5559]

Sonsky Infante I know it's so gutting to hear the stress they were put under. It's amazing that they were able to get so much done.

[@Gracetoyou7]

Your response doesn't really show you care, normally you wouldn't start a sentence to send a message of care with "Ouch".

[@DtehHermit]

@@Gracetoyou7 Ouch is accurate nonetheless, the point has been made

[@MyNameIsSonsky]

@@Gracetoyou7 sorry if you felt that way. Here, let me give you a hug so i could show you that i care *hug*. There you go. Happy my friend? 😄

[@BuffDaddySmoove]

Creed Diskenth need a kiss on the cheek too?

[@HyouVizer]

"Dragon Age 4 was canceled and reboot it with a small team" Yep its gunna suck 😔

[@HazarTulum]

I'll bet they havent even started production on it yet. And they won't until the E3 presentation in however many years time

[@dressionep]

Plus it will be woke

[@Mazra42]

Hey now, you won't know until 6 months after release. Their new business model is to roll out games piece by piece, starting with all the broken pieces.

[@kevythekevlar]

Why are people still giving money to this company after Anthem and Battlefront 2. Seriously wtf is wrong with you all

[@Ivan-co7iz]

Stockholm Syndrome

[@ReddestRosies6298]

Ivan Barrera Especially with the fifa franchise.

[@shortyorc121]

Apex literally save ea. We were so close... freaking normies

[@manchesterunitedno7]

@@shortyorc121 Apex Legends has several factors that play into its hand right. - Not overly complex and small game by design, factoring by the already proven genre, BR. With only one playing field and a handful of "Legends" to start the game. Keep the ambition grounded and laser focus on that. - Respawn Entertainment (the developer) insistence for its publisher, EA, to steer clear away from the very beginning. No need for pre-release/early access, no big marketing gimmick, no meddling of studio programmers (case to point, Anthem production), nothing. - Unlike other studios under EA umbrella. Respawn firmly believe of still using Source Engine. It pays off.

[@cloudstrife702]

Cuz I work there

[@jacobmarcelo9805]

This is like a horrific car crash. It's absolutely devastating and yet you can't stop watching.

[@cherrydragon3120]

I don't have sympathy for the employees that suffered and decided to stay at bioware. They're just stupid

[@strikerecho2592]

Cherry Dragon Unfortunately, you have to consider too that these are people that are trying to earn a living. If they leave the company, then they have to either create their own game company and use their own income, or find another studio to work at which by, is very difficult to do.

[@connormccloskey2187]

@@cherrydragon3120 Sounds like something a kid who has never had a job or paid bills would say. I'm sure your moms basement is nice and cozy.

[@Frank_144]

I don't understand what's so deppresing about developing a game...

[@nejiharuno]

@@Frank_144 The depressing part comes in when all your hard work, hours and passion put into it, only to have to be told "No, start from the beginning" for any reason, this case being that the rest of the team were not in the know regarding what game they were supposed to develop (still think they dicked around). Then compound your individual feeling and think how your entire team is feeling. Add in the fact that your team is struggling with assets that you know that your entire group will have to struggle with until they first try to make it work, and then realize how actually difficult it will be. To the point that you have to sacrifice hours of your own personal life, risk your own health, while riding on the line regarding your future in your workfield. It's PAINFULLY, maybe even forever damaging, soul crushing.

[@omegaweltall2001]

‘Dragon age 4 will be built on Anthem’s code base.’ ......yeah, that’s gonna go well

[@nycto5335]

Lol Though it is better than starting from scratch just because they want to be "different"

[@Hounlaiga]

Maybe they can adapt the flying mechanic to make an airship section, or something. That'll be a good sell pitch.

[@NivMizzet89]

Well, that killed any interest I had left for DA4.

[@hehaw4147]

@@nycto5335 I mean....not really. Starting with shite can be worse than starting from scratch, because you have to try to carve out the shite before you can even really get started if you want the game to be half decent.

[@thecolossaltitan1092]

Frostbite engine is bad for open world games. That shows.. Well every Bioware game... And these idiots are still using this broken engine... Well fuck them. Its just good for every multiplayer shotter game. But for anything else... Nope.

[@Navifaerie64]

"Let's do science-fantasy! We've never done that before!" Really? Because I'm pretty sure Biotics are space magic. But seriously- who is shocked that Anthem was completed in under two years?

[@francescolombardi3438]

I assume you use "completed" loosely?

[@BladeMasterIcarus]

Correction Anthem had 7 YEARS of development and only finished development in the last few months before release.

[@Hornswroggle]

Honestly I can understand EAs push for a release in the end. They are partially funding this whole mess and at some point they are right to step in, collect the "exam sheets" and say "OK lads! Time's up! Whadda ya got?" ... and BW stood there with empty hands and empty pages. So: Sit down! Grade F

[@ObjectiveFailed]

A more accurate comparison would be if the teacher made the student write with their left hand, took away their eraser to give to a different student that they liked more, and had the billy idol song mony mony blaring on repeat for the duration of the test. Not saying BioWare is free of all blame just saying that EA definitely seemed to make it harder than it had to be.

[@diddleydoops9705]

Developers need to be able to say something without backlash by companies if things are ever this rough. Nobody should have let this go on and get shipped to consumers.

[@fessy4]

I know right? Is there no regulation in the gaming industry? How is this legal?

[@diddleydoops9705]

@@fessy4 i guess in hindsight they will just find someone else to do it. But they should have the right to refuse to make a game when things get this bad. However you need to put it on pen and paper to allow it. They should be able to all collectively refuse the game and force a company to understand why

[@diddleydoops9705]

@@BoleDaPole pretty much yeah. Would be nice lol. But it wont ever happen

[@ChaseWSanders]

@@diddleydoops9705 They should have stayed independent. All developers should stay independent and make smaller, better games rather than be bought by a behemoth and lose their soul making a blockbuster title. Ea, Activision, etc. are evil at heart. Yes, occasionally they can push a studio to create an amazing blockbuster experience, but at what cost? The developers feel burnt out, or neglected, or even abused. They leave. All these companies are shells of their former selves, due to their publishers. There is no love of game development with these big publishers. There is only money and shareholders.

[@davidegazzaniga7558]

No way, they can’t. Investors will pull their money and with no money the company dies. It’s a hard position to be in

[@jemmascott5559]

Considering everything it's amazing that Anthem even is playable. Edit: Playable doesn't mean it's a great game. The game has some major flaws, but you can play the game to a pretty decent degree.

[@Vicous528]

Yes and no. There are few technically feats other than dealing with the Fostbite Engine's classes/components.

[@aricaice2591]

Tbh I was impressed by how much they can make in that span of time. If only they have better management decisions, Anthem would look great given a production time of at least two years.

[@Vicous528]

@@aricaice2591 Pretty graphics doesn't equal depth, nor quantity. You are going googoo gagah for a dressed up sparkling turd.

[@Vicous528]

@@aricaice2591 It's impressiveish, but still garbage.

[@aricaice2591]

@@Vicous528 I didn't say it was great but on how much they can produce in a short amount of time, THAT was impressive. Not just the graphics alone but let alone the flying mechanic which is of course still clunky. Of course the technical aspect is not really great but passable as it is playable still. Overall, Anthem isn't great by all means and it's because of the internal issues they have.

[@Yazyano]

At this point it's Bioware and EA's fault. Bioware fighting themselves and EA wanting everything done on the Frostbite Engine.

[@hector1404]

Idiot Managers, Stakeholders that know nothing about development, seems Office politics were more important than getting things done properly.

[@xvxEXOxvx]

EA did not say they wanted it done in Frostbite. They just wanted it done.

[@Gala-yp8nx]

It probably would have worked out better if they had used the Unreal Engine.

[@kevingame3198]

@@Gala-yp8nx but the frostbite engine is only made for first-person shooters and racing games why can't they use unreal engine or valve sorce engine or heck decimal engine await Sony owns that engine or even cryengine

[@Rocksteady72a]

No lie, I've come to hate the engine. It's a buggy mess more times than not, and the few times it shines doesn't make it worth it. I'm glad they got the amazing results they did for Inquisition, but the engine is old and unsustainable. EA needs to let their studios move on, similar to how they've given Respawn free reign over their engine decisions.

[@marsil602the2nd]

Frostbite vs Bethesda's Ancient Engine vs Luminous: The the great old-fart-engine battle royale of our time!! _unreal 4 sitting in the background with popcorn_

[@frickthefuckoff]

While EA is to be partially blamed, the bulk is clearly on Bioware's end. The superiority complex of Edmonton towards Austin especially pisses me off. I wonder how many of the staff members were like that?

[@omega1397]

Bioware Edmonton Master Race. Acted like Nazis lol. Funny, hubris was a significant part of the Nazis downfall. I wonder when the workforce will hold the management team in their own Nuremberg Trial :P

[@DamienDarksideBlog]

Honestly... I'm on EA's side. If I was a company that has been paying an entire studio for 5 years with nothing to show for it, I'd be absolutely livid. Their "GET THIS SHIT OUT" order was the only way that BioWare could ever get some semblance of a game out.

[@frederickschnabel1685]

@@DamienDarksideBlog as dangerous as that sounds, it seems like your right. Edmonton had been working solely on anthem after the release of dragon age inquisition, and somehow didn't even have a framework by 2017? You really have to wonder how such mismanagement can even happen.

[@anirudhviswanathan3986]

@@frederickschnabel1685 Being in Project Management class and reading case studies of failed projects, I can say, if useful work isn't being done for ALMOST 5 GODDAMN YEARS, no amount of good management can fix that.

[@StylishRex]

EA gave them a long ass time for development. I hate EA as much as the next guy but they aren't in fault this time. This and it pains me to say it is Bioware's fault. And it should have been an amazing fucking game since they drafted the people working on Andromeda to this game.

[@danshepard6851]

God damn, this article broke my heart. It confirmed everything that I feared was wrong. I really think that this is the beginning of the end for Bioware, even the husk that it's become.

[@andrewuk2781]

Yeah Bioware is not dying. It's long gone.

[@ThoA45]

Tbh, i didn't think it was this bad and it was so crazy that i thought "naah, come on it can't be this ?" But it makes senses now....

[@ChanginChangling]

*sematary

[@y2kplus9]

@@ChanginChangling "Cemetery". If you're gonna correct someone, make sure you are correct in the first place.

[@crazyluigi6664]

@@y2kplus9 Clearly never heard of the Stephen King book, huh?

[@stanieldasboot953]

Its only been a month? Im not being sarcastic here, Ive heard so much about it that it just feels like its been so much longer.

[@charliechan6892]

Lol same here

[@GenuineBruno]

Ever since I saw the gameplay reveal at E3, I always had a bad feeling about this game. People should always wait for reviews and NEVER preorder games.

[@123Suffering456]

Me too. I kept having this feeling of "this won't be a good game at all" even though I had seen little about it and usually stay more open-minded than that. Maybe intuition lol. I would say I hope some people at least will learn from this and stop pre-ordering everything, but... yeah, that won't happen.

[@PepeMetallero]

This game didn't caught my attention at all, it started when Andromeda concept art was released that got me excited. Then the game was released and well I don't have to explain the rest.

[@GenuineBruno]

@Elvick Alright pal, relax.

[@neoanderson3397]

@Elvick and yet alot of people still fell for it

[@mauriceanderson5413]

I dunno, but how people can be so blind to shit like that? Why even reacting to prerenders and fake gameplays?

[@samdale3937]

RIP old BioWare always in our hearts.

[@ElZamo92]

Sam dale well, most people from old BioWare have been missing from the studio for a LONG time. Old BioWare died right after EA got their grubby hands on the studio.

[@FlasRoose]

"Gaawdamn.." -Newp Newp

[@DeathDontWait4NoOne]

I was playing KOTOR this morning

[@mrm7058]

I heard that some old Bioware devs now work at Fogbank Entertainment. Maybe there is at least some hope for Fans of the old Bioware, but we have to wait and see what they will release.

[@judgeporceddu8057]

nuBioware want your moneys not respect.

[@V1dW4tcher]

Good thing I avoided this game like the plague.

[@arnoux8508]

Good for you, pre ordered deluxe edition and only around 1 hour. Rip cash

[@toaster9922]

Same, It takes a really fucking special person to not see this game as a flop as soon as it was announced.

[@Ushiwakamaru_BAU_BAU]

Yeah I thought the same and I feel bad for my friends that bought it

[@avykh99]

@@arnoux8508 literally the entire internet was warning you not to buy this game before it released.

[@spooneater9001]

Was there any hope that anything would have been good after Andromeda?

[@dovakeen1179]

Yup EA quality. Screwed up star wars so hard they could give Kathleen Kennedy pointers

[@omega1397]

Never forget what the EA guys said to Viscerals Single Player Star Wars game. "Where's Chewbacca?" "FIFA Ultimate Team makes a lot of money. What do you have?" What a joke.

[@rjdiggs738]

Jimmy Powell It was all biowares management to blame here this time. Also. Thanks to dice Star Wars battlefront 2 is actually an amazing game. You'd know that if you took the time to play it now instead of holding on to old grudges like a psychotic obsessive housewife who still brings up her husbands cheating 15yrs back.

[@asain3586]

@@rjdiggs738 Or we could get awesome single player coop Star wars with epic story with BF2 combats instead of cash grab mtx live service that no one care anymore. But eh, you do you.

[@zigmus00A]

@@omega1397 that's share holders for you. The only thing going on in that head of theirs is how to make profit and how to make *more* of it

[@jameschou888]

How did you know Casey hudson is writing a Star Wars trilogy?

[@Mr0901]

everyone was scared bioware would be shut down if anthem failed but tbh i think it's better if they did shut down, this is not a company that should stay online edit: it sounds like a high school project where everyone was doing their own thing yet nothing at all

[@collector1951]

A Potato e

[@collector1951]

Exacly

[@sandman45981]

EA: Forcing Bioware to use Frostbite even after they have complained about how it is bad to use for RPGs, twice Bioware: Very poor management and no direction

[@2XocraM]

Anthem is not an RPG though.

[@sandman45981]

@@2XocraM Anthem is an online multiplayer RPG shooter similar to games like Destiny 2, Warframe, and Borderlands 2.

[@ghostashghostash1518]

@@2XocraM lol what

[@inorichan895]

Developers: The game was a pain and sucks. Fanboys: The game is amazing you just hate cuz EA!

[@Vicous528]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Vicous528]

Fanboys being imbeciles offering to suck cock even if their idol doesn't want it.

[@kos2919]

Remind me of a smaller youtuber I subbed for his photography videos but now he switched to gaming and he literally defending shit games like Atlas and Anthem and calling people who hate them bandwagon riders. Funny thing is he quietly stop playing anthem after a short while. It's like it dawned on him how shitty the game but got too much pride to admit it after he defending the game so much

[@the13thjoker]

Well the fanboys arent wrong. I hate every game made by EA. Did they ever ask why a lot people hate EA ?

[@LimitPro1]

Hate those asshats!

[@tehhymnofvalefor]

I really wanted a sci-fi dragon age

[@wearevenom4121]

.....they already have.....several games infact....

[@EndymionMkII]

So another game that says "6 years" of development but then was actually made in just a year and a half. What a surprise...

[@Warlock_Lelouch]

Bioware Austin: yeah so we think this feature will cause probl... BioWare Edmonton: A team! A team! A team! A team! BioWare Austin: :|

[@firestorm7919]

Joseph Hodgson since the game is now in Austin’s hands now, hopefully they pull a miracle and turn this game around for the people that continue to play Anthem. I’m probably never gonna buy it even if they do, mostly because when it comes to live services you pretty much have to get the game at launch or forever be left behind in progression.

[@bardistass]

yeah, we all saw angry joes video too

[@firestorm7919]

bardistass I actually didn’t yet because I had no time watch a 40 minute video 😂. I will watch it later today, though.

[@kyotheman69]

seriously management is so fucked they give a game to team has no experience with online games, wow GENIUS!!! fucken idiots...

[@jemmascott5559]

*Devs:* Sir what is the story we should write for Anthem? *J. Jonah Jameson:* Forget Anthem! Get me the story on Spider-Man!

[@RippahRooJizah]

You misspelled Jonah's name. You can be sued for libel.

[@jemmascott5559]

RippahRooJizah ... you're the snitch that told them?!

[@zmdumpbox2340]

Anthem wasn't Murdered - BioWare SABOTAGED Themselves A video essay by HygienicRoyaltyPlaying

[@jameschou888]

ZM Dumpbox you know clearprincegaming?

[@arkus2919]

WOW, This game is literally Andromeda all over again.

[@Teuz91]

Andromeda is definitely better than Anthem, and Andromeda is at the best an average game.

[@Vicous528]

Even the time!

[@Vicous528]

@@Teuz91 Right? There's a COMPLETE story and game, though still not good.

[@23kurtzy]

Right every complaint about Anthem was literally made with Andromeda.

[@andrewuk2781]

It's yet another looter shooter story...directed by EA. How anyone expected anything else eludes me.

[@AegixDrakan]

Wow. I knew development was troubled. But not THIS troubled. :o My sympathies to the developers stuck in that situation.

[@cherrydragon3120]

I do not have sympathy for people that suffer this much shit and DON'T quit their job. They practicaly ask for it by now. If they left after such treatment, yes then i would feel bad for them. But being treated like this and staying??? Thats just fucking stupid

[@aarongillard2615]

@@cherrydragon3120 weill i suppose that after so many years workin there, ye form an attachment and find it hard to work up the courage to say "ah sure feck it"

[@Uldihaa]

@@cherrydragon3120 That's fucking "I need this job to pay my rent, food, and utilities because I don't live with my parents".

[@Hunter-sc4ng]

@@cherrydragon3120 I'm not sure how old you are. You can't just quit a career job like that. It's not as simple as "well this game development thing isn't working out, I'll get a similarly paying job somewhere else." They have specific skillsets that aren't needed everywhere, so unless they want to start in a lower paying job (compromising their entire financial livelihood, including their family's) or hope to god they can actually find a job that pays well that they can do well in. Why do you think losing a job is so devastating? You see it in media, and often people are brought to tears or depression - they don't shrug it off.

[@mauriceanderson5413]

Atleast they have fulfilled their color and gender quotas so its a ok

[@NeonLeonNoel]

I remember an interview with Quentin Tarantino saying that it's the role of the director to get everyone to understand the director's vision. In a medium in which there's so many departments and moving parts, there can't be an auteur who does every single aspect, others have to do it instead, so it's important that everyone knows what is the vision.

[@MisterNightfish]

So when Yong reports on negative shit that goes on in game development he's a provocateur but when Jason does it he's a good boi? I am confus.

[@Brapgod]

MisterNightfish Yongyea spreads only reports on theories, and speculation. Jason is a actual journalist that puts in the work and effort to get facts.

[@ra6765]

@@Brapgod to be fair he always states at the end of every video "that is my view" or "one man's viewpoint" which indicates that he is looking to not only report but to discuss the matter. Jason is a journalist, his job is to inform, not discuss.

[@lesterramos6468]

Creepy Old Man they both do well relaying news and as dickish as Schrier is, his work on game journalism is astounding.

[@Warrior_Culture]

I just feel like there is too much bias and inconsistency in a lot of Yong's stuff. For example, he has torn up multiple games for having a lack of content and linear level design even if the games are fun to play. But then, when he reviews Devil May Cry 5, he does nothing but praise the game after describing it as "maybe 12 hours of gameplay and point A to point B to point C levels". And that's just one example. I understand it's all about opinions, but if you're going to review games there has to be some consistency in the criteria.

[@katanafourzeronine]

@@Warrior_Culture you also have to account for context and content type. I wouldn't judge Destiny 2 under the same lens as I would judge DMC5, nor would I judge Super Mario World with the same lens as I would judge Gears of War 3.

[@jamesflowers1295]

I say it all the time, EA is where game companies go to die. Like old people and Florida.

[@ThoA45]

I said it and will say it again: the article makes it quite clear that EA asked a game but they gave a fuck ton of time to make it. Their biggest shit was to force the frostbite. If anything, their fault is onto allowing this release but the whole mess is Bioware management's fault.

[@scallie6462]

Id say EA is more akin to Death sheparding poor DevStudio souls to the riversticks. Old people go to Florida to die, they arent bought and sent their :(

[@Wolfrich666]

honestly? i dont think is EA at this point, bioware itelf doesnt know how to fking make games anymore

[@catharsismemory]

So that explains why I saw a lot elderly living down there while visiting lol

[@mistalenny2596]

As fun as it is to blame it all on EA since EA is a shitty company, the majority of this was BioWare’s fault

[@Timelost_Techpriest]

"Content wasn't stripped to be sold later." Yikes. So that bare-bones, low-content release was the best they could do. _Yikes._

[@CrimsonBlasphemy]

That's what happens you have 0 actual management, and redesign your game from the ground up every few months.... For years. BioWare doesn't have a management team anymore, and doesn't have anyone with enough Vision & Authority to drive a project to completion. They also have the albatross of Frostbite around their necks. Frostbite is awful for rapid iteration and prototyping. It is also now barely stable enough to produce a Battlefield game, which is what it was designed for.

[@cherrydragon3120]

Its super sad that such professional companies can barely make an actual good game without depending on MONTHS of updates OR the modding community

[@UsmanMuhammadNooruddin]

Next on Yong Yea: EA closes BioWare due to missing target sales. Next next on Yong Yea: EA's top management gets a salary increase because of 'showing exceptional management skills.'

[@the13thjoker]

@Red Coin none. EA will die. Its better this way.

[@ReddestRosies6298]

What’s truly alarming is that “stress casualties” were such a commonplace amongst staff, they came up with their own name for it. That’s a pretty massive red flag that something isn’t right.

[@redskin122004]

At this point, Bioware being dissolved/shutdown would be a mercy for the developers.

[@brandondonato7648]

And the only thin EA would have left is Apex Legends, let all of that sink in.

[@frickthefuckoff]

@@brandondonato7648 don't they have Fifa?

[@jlmoodhd7415]

@@frickthefuckoff yah Fifa is like a gold mine to EA.

[@crazyluigi6664]

@@jlmoodhd7415 And Madden.

[@michaelskoomamacher5652]

@@frickthefuckoff basically all of their sport titles and whatever DICE released this year.

[@flux_time]

Haha you mean to tell me that sometime around andromeda the whole bioware studio just lights up in flames as everyone burns out? I couldnt tell.

[@XenonG]

Bioware people had experience working with Unreal Engine, Unreal Engine used in tons of online MMOs. Why not use that? lol

[@darksign1840]

I don't know, Ask EA.

[@Dadboard_Gaming]

This just confirms the incompetence that was bioware

[@gastonbell108]

Amazingly, EA's brand of corporate evil was among the LEAST significant negative factors in Anthem's failure. Rather than breaking their balls TOO hard, they let them literally fiddle-fuck around for 5 and a half years without any oversight. What a shitshow this industry has become.

[@darkguardian1314]

The one who mandated they should use the Frostbite engine should take the blame. This happened before. No procedures or documentation is just a recipe for disaster.

[@Jirujan]

"the next Dragon Age will be built on Anthem's codebase" ugh....

[@RunFromCities]

At least it will take 6 more years to "make" another bad game I don't buy.

[@detectivemolasses1980]

That is a good thing...they wouldn't need to reinvent new systems that already exist, this will save them a lot of time in hindsight.

[@lymdrenntelvanni8054]

So, does that mean DA 4 is also going to be a Online-Multiplayer-"Service"? I can't say I'm surprised. Sad, but not surprised. Meaning instead of my usual "wait to buy until bugs are fixed" it's going to be a no buy. Damnit.

[@FullchanAnon]

@@scroungergaming6445 I know that EA is scum, but if you had listened to the video, you'd know that EA kept their hands of Anthem's production except for taking away their programmers to work on FIFA and rework their loot boxes. Most of the fault lied with Bioware 'leaders' themselves for having their noses in the air.

[@blarghmcblarghson1903]

@@FullchanAnon Taking away all the programmers with Frostbite experience is only "hands off" in the sense it's tearing experienced hands off the project; that's massive interference for a project that was already plagued with problems. Also mandating all studios have to use Frostbite is another massive interference with the project. That's not to say Bioware isn't a shadow of what it used to be and every other problem isn't wholly their fault, but EA is to blame for forcing shitty dev tools onto Bioware and ensuring they had no chance to use it properly.

[@TheGrayMysterious]

I think it's a problem when your game design and production philosophy sounds like the professional equivalent to slacking off on a school project and then staying up for 3 days straight to finish on time.

[@scarletzebra11]

Great reporting in this one. Nice work man!

[@TuffMelon]

Wait wait wait, they were complaining because the story was too close to their previous games? DID THEY FORGET THOSE GAMES WERE POPULAR?

[@23kurtzy]

@Savanna Banana That's cool and all but it helps if you have something like a basic foundation or concept before ou try and write something new.

[@Lethargy514]

@Savanna Banana And I'm sure that turned out wonderfully for them, huh?

[@dalestoddard2742]

The method of their storytelling is what makes it good. It would get boring if they just retold the story from a different game.

[@scallie6462]

@Savanna Banana fun fact. Most classic works of fiction will follow an archetypicallayout layout. Reskinning an amazing story can fool people into thinking they are seeing something new.. James Cameron's Avatar is literally a futuristic Pocahontas. Nothing new.

[@user-bc3xv6bw8l]

@Savanna Banana But the story is part of the management problem. The so called leaders wanted a different story... and that's all the direction they gave. What the hell does that even mean? So even that boils down to idiots in the driver's seat.

[@Dinowarrior21]

Developers: we need time, we are being overworked and underpaided. EA: The whippings will continue until moral improves.

[@Scarabswarm]

*morale EA doesn't even know what "moral" means.

[@admiralsc1]

From what i gathered from joe angry rant is they had 7 years to develop the game but they didnt start until 2017. So seems like its biowares fault

[@eggheadcobra]

As much as I hate EA, Bioware had a total of 7 years to make Anthem, and 5 of those years were wasted jerking around during pre-production. Bioware was given LOTS of time, and most of it was wasted.

[@GrimJunior-fe6ik]

Actually, this is all on Bioware. Shocking, I know, but EA isn't at fault this time. Actually (if I heard correctly), it was because of EA flying was added back into the game mid-development, flying being one of Anthem's few positives. So, in a weird way, EA actually made Anthem better.... it feels weird...

[@protoman1521]

@@GrimJunior-fe6ik adding microtransactions on top of an underdeveloped game totally rignt my man

[@eddy6969100]

amazing coverage ! thanks a lot , very informative

[@sirpiggythe3rd135]

This video is basically my university degree in a nutshell, except that lasted for 4 years!

[@crozraven]

Not one bit I am surprised by this. In fact, this is just a confirmation to my own theory how a game like Anthem came to be.

[@JonoSSD]

Is anyone surprised? This is pretty much Mass Effect Andromeda 2.0, the behind the scenes is almost identical. Bioware higher-ups are appointed by EA, therefore EA has officially killed Bioware.

[@asagaetis]

I get what you're saying, but I think it might be a little off. For example, if EA asked the studio head to drive somewhere and they drove straight into a brick wall, that wouldn't be EA's fault necessarily.

[@MarkoArillius]

Also don't forget Mass Effect 3. A lot of people seem to forget that while the gameplay wasn't exactly buggy, it was heavily lacking in areas prior games had.

[@hapokas112]

Thanks for the news.

[@tonyhuynh570]

*insert burning house with dog saying its fineeee

[@battlion507]

Insert the animated sequel of the dog saying IT'S NOT OKAY!

[@iikkuowo6735]

this is why worker protection regulations are important

[@Sonjaslostson]

If that shit can even happen in Canada, then nowhere is safe from the freeping Corporatocracy

[@Ample17]

Bioware Management was like: We have a plan!... we just need TIME alooot of MONEY and some God damn faith!!

[@ccsvisual]

Maricoooo, I actually just noticed your gonna hit 900k soon, congrats bro, been here since the beginning. Cheers and keep up the good work. Vivia Venezuela!!!

[@michaelknox3715]

@Eliezer Ruiz I pray for your country. I hope everything gets better over there

[@madlad8601]

Anthem was literally dead during its developement

[@shipmaster1863]

It was worse than dead. It wasn't even born until right before the deadline

[@emie018]

there wasn't even a game until 15 months before the game came out

[@frankieb9444]

It's currently in the ICU wishing for death.

[@VanTesla]

I can respect Jason's reporting even if I think his personality and some of his political beliefs are not so great. He is one of the few good game journalist and I'm glad he is passionate in seeking truth instead of trying to force his personal narrative all the time like most games journalist today.

[@toledochristianmatthew9919]

True i do think he and most of Kotaku are absolute dbags at times but i do respect them for things likes this at times unlike most review sites.

[@LimitPro1]

His personality is like 🌙 and 🌞

[@robnickerson7819]

Agreed

[@TheSpongyMallard]

I don't like the guy, but he is right most of the time and he's shed some light on a ton of important stories.

[@milespropper2288]

The review we’ve all been waiting for

[@cyruskinggaming4867]

you know they were right, this game will be talked for years to come. Just not in the way they expected.

[@cheezyfilmsproductions1842]

Doubtfully. By 2020 no one remembers this game lol

[@16xthedetail76]

Wait dragon age 4 was canceled and rebooted and was assigned a small team? WTF man? D: 16:11

[@losnfjslefn8857]

Sigh. Here's to hoping that "Bioware magic" kicks in 😒

[@deadhead8323]

Yup when they said they rebooted the development they said they wanted to make it a live service game. So you know they're loading it with lootboxes and microtransactions.

[@losnfjslefn8857]

@@deadhead8323 ??? Please tell me this is not true. Where did you hear that? Was it in the article?

[@craigslater2321]

@@losnfjslefn8857 segmentnext.com/2018/11/20/bad-news-dragon-age-4-live-service-game-influenced-anthem/

[@andrewuk2781]

And there still will be hype for it for some reason.

[@shadushio9682]

A game made under the umbrella of one of the the most hated companies out there, and the leadership/development were troubled. What a shock... *This is my sarcastic face*

[@MadIvano]

EA literally did nothing wrong in regards to anthem.

[@losnfjslefn8857]

From what the article says, most of the blame seems to lie with Bioware 😟

[@mircoc3507]

@@MadIvano forcing them to use frostbite can be considered something. I'm not defending bioware tho. Can't fuck up two times in a row like that.

[@andrewuk2781]

@@MadIvano Forcing gameplay type, their engine that did not agreed with the project and prioritising "long term financial investment" from gamers? All this are huge and come from EA.

[@thess815]

@@MadIvano Well, unless you count pulling skilled Frostbite users to develop FIFA. I think that counts as 'something wrong'. As well as forcing them to use Frostbite in the first place without enough of a foundation in terms of personnel to make it work across all of its properties.

[@Matt_M_again]

Fantastic breakdowns my man

[@brycepat9810]

I saw an add for a leadership course pop up during this video. How appropriate

[@oopus4]

Let me qoute JC Denton from Deus Ex. Ahem! "What a shame". Thank you.

[@KILLERAOC]

“He was a good man. What a rotten way to die.”

[@robnickerson7819]

Bahahahah JC Denton is a goldmine

[@NoveloMaus]

They were a good dev team. *lip smack* What a rotten way to die.

[@PinchySkree]

"Oh yes!"

[@El_Wanderer91]

oopus4 I approve.

[@pakkn]

I want to see Yong's bloopers and outtakes while making these videos. His reporting and flawless delivery makes it look so effortless. 💯

[@kapelekf]

Listening to this is like seeing an easily avoidable train wreck unfold before you in slow mo. Thank you for covering this news story!

[@CartoonHangout]

I had a lot of fun reading that article.

[@leokakazu]

The crunch is the worst part of any devolpment, is so inhuman how much time developers stay in work just to launch the game in time

[@Mephiston]

"It's not crunch if this is the standard" - EA upper management.

[@mentalpopcorn2304]

While excessive crunch is bad, a good amount is still necessary. When you have a due date for something big in literally any other work space you save the crunch time for the end. Without a due date there Is no motivation. Without the due date games will never get finished. Without the due date crunch time stops existing. I've heard indie developers tell me even in their group of a couple developers they need to set dates to make sure they crunch to finish their work. It's just how game development is. Not to mention, if games took even longer to make on average or took more workers it's more likely more jobs would just get outsourced. Whether you like it or not other people are willing to do what game devs do for less in other countries. This isn't restricted to EA alone. It's more because of the government as a whole

[@Mephiston]

Crunch should never be necessary. That is just a failure in longterm planning and leadership not being able to properly motivate and incentivise their employees without having to threaten them and put the pressure on.

[@GeorgeMonet]

@@Mephiston It's also a failure to properly break up the project into smaller segments.

[@Mephiston]

Which is, again, a management and leadership issue. But yes, I agree.

[@the13thjoker]

Maxis (SimCity) - (1997 - 2015). While the name still exist, real people who behind maxis is all gone. Mythic (Dark Age of Camelot) - (2006 - 2014). Bullfrog (Syndicate, Dungeon Keeper) - (1995 - 2001). Either they kill themself or EA kill them, EA still letting bullfrog die. Origin (Ultima, Wing Commander) - (1992 - 2004). Westwood (Command & Conquer) - (1998 - 2003). DreamWorks Interactive/Danger Close/EA Los Angeles (Medal of Honor) - (2000 -2003). Phenomic (SpellForce, BattleForge) - (2006 - 2013). Black Box Games (Need for Speed, Skate) - (2002 - 2013). Pandemic (The Saboteur) - (2008 - 2009). PlayFish (The Sims Social) - (2009 - 2013) NuFX (NBA Street) - (2004 - 2007) Criterion Games - Burnout, NFS (2010 and 12). 80% of staff relocated to Ghost Games and had their new IP (codename Beyond Cars) scrapped. Visceral (Dead Space) - (1998 - 2017). Flagship Studios by pushing them to release Hellgate: London before it was ready - (2003 - 2008). DICE (battlefield) - (2006 - shut down in.........) Bioware (Mass effect) - Purchased by EA in 2007; shut down in........ EDIT : adding more EA kills: visceral, Criterion Games, Flagship studio and editting bullfrog.

[@michaelskoomamacher5652]

Actually Bullfrog shot themselves for unable to find someone as visionary as Peter Molyneux, despite Molyneux secretly protected them from EA's bureaucracy. This has been confirmed by his staffs. If you want to know more, check Kim Justice's documentary on him.

[@Mephiston]

You forgot they killed Flagship Studios by pushing them to release Hellgate: London before it was ready (so it lined up with a halloween release), and that deprived us also of Mythos

[@Mephiston]

Bullfrog died because Molyneux left. Molyneux left because Tim Rance sent Molyneux's resignation email after having convinced him to write one, and that annoyed the shit out of Larry Probst and the rest of EA upper management, despite Molyneux trying to explain that the email wasn't supposed to have been sent. They told him basically not to come in anymore, and then held Dungeon Keeper at ransom to stop him from taking the rest of Bullfrog with him. I'm not bitter about Bullfrog, because we got Lion's Head Entertainment from it.

[@battlion507]

Don't forget Visceral (Dead Space).

[@driakos]

Origin was actually around till 2007. In 2004 they moved a lot of us from Austin, to Redwood Shores. There was still development and support. Mostly focused on UO, and UOX (working title). UOX was eventually canceled, and the remaining Origin devs were moved to other projects. The real final nail was in 2007, when the last design, creative, art, devs were given the option to relocate to Virginia and work on UO at Mythic HQ. So few did, that there was no more Origin.

[@marcvsaurelius7570]

I truly hope bioware higher ups learned their lesson from this. Dragon Age 4 NEEDS to be good

[@omega1397]

I have very low expectations. I just hope the writing is good. It's pretty much the only thing I've cared about since DA2. Just want a satisfying story about Solas. At least Patrick Weekes is in charge.

[@marcvsaurelius7570]

​@@heliopyre That's fair enough. But I feel that people have been giving these companies a pass and saying "its EA's fault". When between this news and the news about it being Respawn who chose to make Apex what it is maybe EA doesn't have as a tight stranglehold on these companies as we think. If the blame is put on EA there is no necessity to innovate in the first place. Perhaps the blame being put squarely on them can change that.

[@marcvsaurelius7570]

@@omega1397 If the story is good and they get rid of the trash frostbite engine (which they won't) I'll pretty much be happy.

[@frankieb9444]

Trailer: "Awesome, Jarra's Wraith" Dev: "Okay, so we need to move forward with exot... Manager: "Did I just hear something related to that other game?" Dev: "Of course not" (Puts in generic gun #1 - 25)