Recently, Kotaku released an expose that took a deep dive into the turbulent development of BioWare’s Anthem, speaking about the game’s rocky launch and poor working conditions for the developers. In response, BioWare released a statement a few days ago defending its workplace culture, while also stating that the company is always open to accept criticism both from within the studio and without. Now, BioWare’s Casey Hudson has released a statement internally addressing the expose head on, opening up about the “very real” issues regarding the well-being of the dev team.

“I wanted to get a note out to you to share my thoughts on the Kotaku article and the online discussion it has raised,” Hudson said in his email to the company. “The article mentions many of the problems in the development of Anthem and some of our previous projects. And it draws a link between those issues and the quality of our workplace and the well-being of our staff. These problems are real and it’s our top priority to continue working to solve them.”

Hudson also opened up about why the company as a whole chose not to participate in the article, confirming the original statement made by BioWare in response to it. “What we found out-of-bounds was the naming of specific developers as targets for public criticism,” he began.

It’s unfair and extremely traumatizing to single out people in this way, and we can’t accept that treatment towards any of our staff. That’s why we did not participate in the article and made a statement to that effect.”

“When I was offered the opportunity to return to BioWare as GM, I came into the role knowing the studio was experiencing significant challenges in team health, creative vision, and organizational focus,” Hudson revealed. “I was – and continue to be – excited to help drive improvements in those areas because I love this studio, and above all I want to create a place where all of you are happy and successful.”

“I’m not going to tell you I’ve done a good job at that, and on a day like today I certainly feel like I haven’t,” he said. “But some of the steps we’ve taken towards this include a more focused studio mission and values, so that we have clarity on what we are here to do and how we define a high standard for our studio culture.

We updated our studio structure around a matrix so that department directors can be fully focused on individual career support and well-being. We are defining better role clarity so that people can succeed better against clear expectations. And we are putting in place production changes that will provide for clearer project vision as well as a significant post-production period that will further relieve pressure and anxiety on teams during development.”

Casey Hudson concluded his email by saying, “As always please continue to provide feedback on further steps we can take to make BioWare the best possible place to work. I’m committed to getting us to a place where we are delivering on the highest expectations for BioWare games, through a work environment that’s among the very best in the world. With your help, we will get there.”

Anthem and BioWare as a company certainly have a long way to go, but like the former, Casey Hudson confirms that the studio is absolutely a work in progress, and all hands involved seem more than committed to bringing themselves back from the brink and once again becoming a dev studio loved by both gamers and its employees.

So, thoughts on Casey Hudson’s latest message? How do you feel about Anthem? Let us know in the comments section below, and as always, stay tuned to Don’t Feed the Gamers for all the latest gaming and entertainment news! Don’t forget to follow DFTG on Twitter for our 24/7 news feed!