BioWare have been known for making games that present players with meaningful choices resulting in branching narratives for as long as they have existed, from Baldur’s Gate and Knights of the Old Republic to Mass Effect and Dragon Age. Their next game, though, is completely different from anything they’ve ever done in the past. Anthem is a shared-world, online-centric game, and as such, the question of whether or not it will have similarly branching stories is one that’s been asked a million times.
BioWare has briefly spoken about this in the past, but now, game director Jonathan Werner has given more specific answer. While speaking with VG247, Werner said that Anthem wouldn’t have a branching narrative, but that its choices will instead focus more on the players’ “personal” story.
“There will be player choice,” Werner said. “I think that Anthem, being a shared world social RPG, we’re focusing less on a massively branching story and more on making it a more personal narrative. There’s definitely choices in there that you’re making, but the focus is a little bit different for this game.”
He also said that BioWare will be focusing more on details about the story and storytelling of Anthem at the upcoming PAX West, which begins on August 31st and ends on September 3rd. This, of course, is something they’ve already announced, so that’s definitely something to look forward to.
Anthem launches on February 22, 2019 for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.