Mass Effect Andromeda. The space action RPG that BioWare fans were excited to see after saying farewell to their Shepards past definitely met with more turbulence than Ryder faced landing on Habitat 7. Some loved the new tale of the Ryder family, others felt the new story fell flat and were confused by the animations. Though the studio that worked on the latest title was a brand new, and much smaller, studio with less than ideal conditions, many fans felt almost betrayed by the focus being primarily set on the newest IP Anthem instead of their highly anticipated Mass Effect series.
When BioWare announced their cancellation of all Andromeda-related content aside from the novelizations, the collective community – especially the ones that enjoyed Ryder’s very different attitude from Shepard – was gutted. Though the team has since talked about the sudden shelving of the franchise – though they’ve promised it’s not gone for good – producer Mike Gamble once more took to those treacherous terrains.
In a recent interview with US Gamer, Gamble revealed that it was very difficult to keep up with the post-launch demands with the resources they had. “I can speak conclusively when it comes to Andromeda, the [post-launch] plans were never in place the way that they are for Anthem. The systems and tools weren’t in place to support the long-term plans, it was never like [Anthem] — never had a good, solid foundation to start from with that. Where with Anthem[post-launch] is a part of it. The job does not end on February 22. It only begins for us, really.”
It’s why he mentioned he loves how they are handling Anthem – it’s doable, it’s easier on the devs and quicker for fans: “We don’t have to wait for full expansions anymore like our previous games, let alone other games in the [live service] space. If you look at Dragon Age or Mass Effect you’d have to wait for three, four, five, six months sometimes between big updates. We don’t have to abide by that anymore. We can actually, week-over-week, trickle out content.”
Though it was sad to see such a beloved franchise take such a rough hit, we know that EA has invested heavily in the Mass Effect series and will revisit it again once the new IP is out and fully supported. Until then, we wait for Anthem’s release on February 22nd, 2019.
