After eight years, Anthem lead producer Ben Irving is leaving ship — possibly for calmer waters. It will be too much speculation to say that Anthem‘s continuing woes are the cause of his departure. Regardless, Irving wrote that Anthem still has “a bright future.”
“After 8 amazing years at BioWare I have made the decision to move on and have accepted an exciting opportunity at another gaming company,” Irving wrote on Twitter. “Since the first time I played Baldurs Gate many many years ago, BioWare was the dream place I always wanted to work.”
I will forever be grateful to all the people who gave me the chance to work on great products with amazing people. I believe Anthem has a bright future – there is a great team working on it and I look forward to following its progress (and playing it!) from the sidelines.”
(2/3) I will forever be grateful to all the people who gave me the chance to work on great products with amazing people. I believe Anthem has a bright future – there is a great team working on it and I look forward to following its progress (and playing it!) from the sidelines.
— Ben Irving (@BenIrvo) August 15, 2019
Not without some Scars
He leaves off with a message for the Anthem community. Irving dropped some appreciation for players and fans on social media. He also acknowledging both “the good times and the tough times.” Indeed, Anthem has seen some tough times, from development tangles and loot drop concerns.
Despite mingling issues, however, EA still holds onto the hope that Anthem will come into its own. EA’s Andew Wilson told GameDaily in June that the Anthem team can end up with “something special and something great, because they’ve demonstrated that they can.”
BioWare finally launched the game’s biggest update, Cataclysm earlier this month. The update wasn’t as well received by fans, especially since it was delayed for about three months. It was a lukewarm response. Wilson believes properties like Anthem can go for “generations,” staying alluring for up to a decade. But with current issues, and Irving’s departure, Anthem‘s future doesn’t quite look as bright and cheery as one would hope.
