Anthem is dead, but a former BioWare executive believes it can still come back

A $10 million plan aims to rescue Anthem as a single-player experience.

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The definitive shutdown of the Anthem servers has marked the official end of one of the most troubled projects in BioWare’s recent history. After years of failed attempts to get back on track, Electronic Arts put an end to the adventure, leaving behind a universe with good ideas that never quite came together.

However, not everyone is giving up on the project. From within the industry itself, interesting reflections have emerged about what Anthem could have been… and what it could still become if someone were willing to take a chance on it.

A $10 million plan to reinvent Anthem from scratch

In a recent video, Mark Darrah, former veteran producer of BioWare, has presented a very concrete plan to bring Anthem back to life. The proposal involves a complete reinvestment of the concept, with an estimated budget of $10 million, a modest figure by current AAA standards.

• The approach is based on three clear pillars. The first would be a complete technical update for current consoles like Xbox Series and PlayStation 5, allowing for solid 60 FPS performance and visual improvements that match modern hardware. The second change would be the most radical: abandoning the multiplayer focus entirely and transforming Anthem into an exclusively single-player experience, in line with what BioWare has historically done best.

The third point would involve introducing AI-controlled companions, replacing the need for an online cooperative squad. This way, the game could focus on character development, decisions, and progression, reclaiming the studio’s classic identity.

However, Darrah himself acknowledges that it’s very unlikely that Electronic Arts would approve such an idea, as it directly clashes with the original vision of Anthem as a persistent service. Nevertheless, the debate once again raises a question that many players have been asking for years: if Anthem had been a traditional narrative RPG from the start, would it have had a very different fate?