Coinciding with the servers for failed live-service mech-based shooter Anthem being shut down earlier this week, executive producer on the title Mark Darrah has released a lengthy video where he spoke about its development, his role in BioWare at the time, and the legacy it left behind. The video, which you can check out below, clocks in at more than 3 and a half hours in length, and features Darrah discussing the development timeline of Anthem, ranging from the game’s pre-production phases and his work on the Dragon Age franchise at the time, to its official reveal in 2017, and how development continued amidst the market itself changing.
When it comes to the legacy of Anthem, Darrah believes that the game ended up doing quite a bit of damage to its developers, both to their careers, and their mental health. He also noted that BioWare itself has faced trouble trying to distance itself from the game. “To be honest, I’m not sure that I came back from Anthem. I think that’s true of a lot of people,” he said.
“Anthem did permanent damage to the careers of a lot of game devs, to the mental health of a lot of game devs. I think even with BioWare itself, you can trace some of the issues that it’s had in more recent years back to this time period,” Darrah continued. “I don’t think Anthem is 100 percent to blame [for] everything that’s happened since 2019, but definitely there are seeds of damage that continue to grow from that point onwards.”
Darrah had worked as executive producer on quite a few projects at BioWare over the years, including controversial 2011 RPG Dragon Age 2, and its 2014 follow-up Dragon Age: Inquisition.
The fact that Anthem was being shut down earlier this week was announced by EA all the way back in July 2025. Fans of the title had decided to experience and enjoy the game one last time before the plug was pulled on its servers. Many of these fans had taken to social media to discuss Anthem, with a common point of discussion among them being the fact that it had a lot of potential.
“Goodbye Anthem. You had so much potential, such a waste,” wrote one player. “As one of the most notorious ‘Destiny killers’, its shutdown is a good reminder that keeping a looter shooter alive and well for years is a nearly impossible task.”
“Last night I logged into Anthem for the last time. Toured the map one last time, did some missions. Had some fun,” wrote another. “People can feel how they want, but the potential this game had was undeniable. The flying was spectacular.”
Anthem was originally released on PC, PS4 and Xbox One back in 2019, and while it had seen quite a bit of praise for its visuals, gunplay and flying mechanics, the title was criticised quite heavily for its lackluster mission design and other questionable decisions that had been made throughout its development. For more details, check out our review.
