Anthem, a game developed by BioWare and published by EA, has become synonymous with both potential and tragedy in gaming. In a recent YouTube series, Mark Darrah, who served as the executive producer towards the end of Anthem’s development, shared his insights on the game’s troubled production.

Darrah reflects on the early ideas for Anthem, which began to take shape around 2011. This was the period when EA, as he describes, seemed to prioritize multiplayer experiences over single-player narratives. Although the spark for Anthem was initially hopeful, the realities of the project would soon prove tumultuous.

As Darrah points out, the vision behind Anthem—blending a multiplayer experience with BioWare’s celebrated storytelling—was ambitious. ‘What Casey was essentially pitching was ‘What if Bioware game, but it could do FIFA numbers?’ Darrah recalls.

Despite the potential, the road to release was fraught with challenges. The massive expectations rooted in a strong narrative led to a disconnection between the pitch and the final product. Ultimately, Darrah admits that the blame for the final state of Anthem rests on him, emphasizing how critical leadership stability is in a project’s success.

As Anthem’s servers remain operational until January 2026, discussions about its development continue to resonate within the gaming community, reflecting on what could have been a triumph for BioWare.