With February seemingly approaching rapidly, those anticipating BioWare’s next IP are becoming more and more excited. That said, the development team has hit a rather major milestone, as Anthem has officially achieved Alpha status. To celebrate such a joyous occasion, General Manager Casey Hudson shared a message with fans that was straight from the heart.

“It was 20 years ago when I joined BioWare – September 8, 1998.,” Hudson said in a post on the studio’s blog. “I had just finished my degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta and found out through a local TV show that there was a videogame studio right here in Edmonton. I spent the summer talking with the founders, Greg and Ray, about joining BioWare as a Technical Artist, and they offered me a job.”

He expressed how BioWare was an independent studio back then with less than 50 people. However, it was also at this time that the company was developing a rather highly-anticipated title: Baldur’s Gate. “I was impressed with the vision for the game: recreating on the PC the experience of playing pen and paper D&D with friends,” he continued. “Being able to adventure together with your friends as a team of heroes, even if they are playing from another city or country, was a magical experience – and one that made a strong impression on me about our mission as a studio.”

We knew we had something special. Baldur’s Gate had fun gameplay, impressive visuals and rich storytelling with memorable characters. And beyond that, we were excited about its potential to bring players together.”

The point that Hudson was building up to was that he is having those same feelings 20 years later… with Anthem. “Last week, the Anthem team passed its Alpha milestone – meaning that every part of the game is in, and functioning. It’s a ton of fun to play, and full of engaging character moments and storylines. But it’s also exciting to see people around the office (and at our partner studios) grouping together for adventures in this new world we’ve created.”

He then went on to say how the energy around the office even feels similar to how it did during the development of Baldur’s Gate. They’ll be harnessing that glorious energy to put a heavy focus on bug-fixing and the like now that all of the important bits are in the game. That said, they’ve got about five months to polish Anthem and make it the best it can be when it releases on February 22nd, 2019 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Keep it tuned to Don’t Feed the Gamers as this story develops, and for other gaming goodness going on right now, check out the following:

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What say you, gamers? Are you getting even more excited for Anthem now that it has reached its Alpha phase? Sound off in the comments section below, and be sure to follow DFTG on Twitter for live gaming and entertainment news 24/7!