BioWare is going to release a new blog post soon, providing new insights into the Anthem 2.0 development and Christian Dailey’s small team is doing so far. Meanwhile he has been very active online, sharing bits of information here and there and publishing Anthem artwork of things that were cut from the original game and new ideas that the studio is working on for the revamp project!
As the game continues to rotate the Regulator, Seasonal and Featured Store on a weekly basis (Featured updates twice), the game itself has not seen an update since February’s 1.7 Patch.
What’s happening with the Anthem 2.0 news and updates we were promised? Enter Christian Dailey, the new front face of the game’s development.
Christian Dailey is the studio director at BioWare Austin for the Anthem video game. A couple of months ago he posted a short blog post, entitled Anthem May Update, revealing first bits about the Anthem 2.0 (or Anthem NEXT, there is no official title for it, really). I also posted a short bio about Christian’ past activities and jobs in my overview of the first blog post.
June passed a long time ago and we didn’t get anything. Not from him, nor from BioWare as a whole. Anthem was not present on any of the public events and online shows. No trailer, no info, nothing.
In the past few weeks, however, Christian has been quite active on Twitter, sharing interesting little bits about the Anthem 2.0 revamp project.
In the beginning of this week he announced that he’s begun work on the next blog post.
“I did start the blog. It has a title. Pretty amazing title I might add.” – Christian announced on July 14 as a response to Elendel19
He also trolled with the following image:
Nothing gets posted officially on behalf of any EA-owned company without that text or document getting approval from a ton of departments, collecting many signatures, receiving edits and approvals. It’s a nightmare.
That’s most likely the reason why were left to wait a full week since that tweet with no results posted. Hopefully next week?
Well, while we wait, let’s check out what details Christian has been spilling out on his twitter. Thankfully EA does not keep such a short leash over posts on forums and probably on social networks, judging by Christian’s recent activity.
The likely biggest reveal we got so far is the fact that BioWare is working on a new faction – pirates.
“It is going well. Hopefully we can spotlight some of the focus areas soon – player autonomy, proper progression (loot/javelin), endgame…and Pirates…. What topics would you like to see?” – posted Christian on Twitter on July 8
In another post Christian shared artwork of the homeland of these pirates, which is likely going to be a redesigned piece of Bastion or a new addition to the not-too-big map of Anthem.
“Lots of good discussion around our Pirate friends and new factions. We want to share more on factions and the part they play in the future. One common question though is “where do the Pirates live?” Here of course …. Happy Friday all.” – Christian tweeted on July 18
A few days ago Christian also teased new melee weapons coming to Anthem.
“Lots of great questions coming in! I won’t be able to respond to everyone but it’s great to see themes forming around areas of interest. Our next blog will focus on some of the changes around loot and gear. Have a great weekend all and stay safe.” – Christian tweeted on July 10
On its own this was not much, but the image he attached to his post, gives us hopes and a reason to speculate what the new loot and gear would be.
At this point there is no confirmation yet if this is a new melee weapon, bringing new unique gameplay mechanics with itself or just another visual alteration of the current Javelins’ weaponry.
I have seen and heard many speculations and the general opinion seems to believe this could be a Colossus blade, judging on its dimensions.
I personally think this is used by Rangers.
Turning the page back to May, Christian shared an interesting artwork of a Scar Strider. The image looked just as cool as it felt intimidating, crazy and hideous. All in one. Take a look for yourself!
The Scar tend to mimic the human form and build their armies in that regard, but a Scar Strider?
I think if this ever gets implemented, it better serve a bigger purpose than all the current Striders in Anthem do. It needs to be more than just a permanent decoration of Bastion’s landscape.
While on the topic of scary things, how about this alternative look of the Unfathomed? The Sunken Cell Stronghold‘s final boss had a very different look in one of the possible artworks.
Unfortunately, BioWare devs were limited in time and could not deliver this look.
“The Unfathomed in the Sunken Cell almost had a very different look, but we ran out of time. Always loved Ken’s concept. Maybe this version will make a visit one day….” – Christian posted on July 17
For a final, let me show you a worthy contender for a wallpaper replacement on your PC monitors – an alternative Anthem Icetide loading screen.
Before you ask, no, Christian has not yet shared a high resolution of this, sadly.
And the most important question – when will the next Anthem 2.0 blog update arrive? The optimistic expectations are for the next week, while Christian Dailey himself announced it as coming “hopefully by the end of the month”.
There is so much unknown currently surrounding Anthem’s revamp project and the May Anthem Update did not reveal nearly as much as we all hoped for.
I am looking forward to see what EA will allow Christian and BioWare to share in the second blog update. You can expect a deep-dive overview and analysis of the post when it is published!
I and VULKK.com remain dedicated to covering everything that happens with Anthem and its redesign project.
I really wish I could deliver more regular updates, like we had in the first months after the game’s release, but if the studio’s silence and time is what brings the game on its feet again, I can wait.
Meanwhile you can check out every Tuesday and Friday the regular Anthem Store Update articles with full review of all items added to the stores for this rotation.
Whether it will end up being Anthem 2.0, Anthem NEXT or anything else, you can fine the latest Anthem Redesign news here!
WHAT TO READ NEXT: Anthem 2.0: New Loot System, Gear and UI Changes
