It’s no surprise that BioWare has been on an interesting, if not sometimes worrisome, path of evolution throughout the years. Especially recounting the most recent changes concerning studio veterans making their departure from BioWare to pursue other ventures, many long-time fans have had their fingers crossed that this isn’t a “beginning of the end” sort of situation. Those fears became louder with Mass Effect Andromeda’s launch and failure to deliver story DLC that was initially planned, and many players were quite vocal about their lack of interest in the latest Space title sans Shepard.

Despite resource cuts, team allocation, and a creative crew built mostly off of “green” developers not used to working on a game of that scale, other gamers enjoyed the Andromeda ride and had hoped for more. When that “more” ended up not happening, those concerns continued to spread. With the polarized reaction to the Andromeda narrative, the community was divided on how to react to the upcoming online action-RPG Anthem but Casey Hudson is here to set the record straight while journeying through his time with the company from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, the Mass Effect Trilogy, leading all the way up to the future release of Anthem. He also offered a little bit of hope, stating that the upcoming experience will be “distinctly BioWare” and “unlike anything you’ve played.”

Here’s what Hudson had to say while on his walk down memory lane.

“It’s going to be an exciting year. There’s so much going on that I wanted to set up a blog where I can share some thoughts and news with you directly. This is the first entry in a series where I’d like to talk about our vision for BioWare, what that means for our upcoming titles, and share some stories about development as we head towards the launch of Anthem.

I started at BioWare 20 years ago. I’ve worked on several of our titles, most notably as the Producer/Director of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republicand the Mass Effect Trilogy. A few years ago, I took some time away to try something different, and had an amazing experience working at Microsoft on mixed-reality and HoloLens. But the Great White North called me home once again when I was offered the opportunity to return to BioWare as General Manager. The idea of leading the company that I was part of building for so long, and returning to work on the game worlds that I love, was one I couldn’t pass up.”

The General Manager then immediately addressed the known frustration regarding story DLC for Mass Effect Andromeda, “When I returned to BioWare last summer, Mass Effect: Andromeda had just been released and there was a significant movement among players asking for a story DLC that would answer questions surrounding the fate of the quarians.” He added, “As you know, we were not able to deliver story DLC for Andromeda—this was as frustrating for us as it was for players, and it was something we knew we had to solve in future games.”

The Andromeda back and forth was a “defining moment” for the company, mentioned Hudson. “That experience ultimately became a defining moment in refocusing BioWare’s mission. We need to delight players with new experiences and innovation, but we must stay focused on the importance of the world, character, and storytelling elements that players expect from our games. And our games must be designed to continue delivering new stories and experiences, in an ongoing relationship with players in the worlds we’re evolving together.”

“It’s in that spirit that we are working through production on Anthem–a game designed to create a whole new world of story and character that you can experience with friends in an ongoing series of adventures. It will be unlike anything you’ve played, but if we do it right, it will feel very distinctly BioWare.”

Anthem will once again share more about what the expansive online experience will have to offer at this year’s E3 right around the corner. Are you willing to give the title that has so many of those beloved veterans working on it a chance? What are your thoughts on Mass Effect: Andromeda? Tell us everything your gamer heart desires in the comment section below, and don’t forget to check out DFTG on Twitter for gaming and entertainment news live 24/7!