Ben Irving, Lead Producer on BioWare’s Anthem, is leaving the studio after eight years of working there. Irving will be taking his talents to another company in the gaming industry. His new role will likely be revealed in the coming days or weeks.
As previously mentioned, Irving has worked at BioWare for eight years, having a hand in Anthem’s development and the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic. After Michael Gamble, Lead Producer at Bioware, parted ways with the company in May 2019, Irving was put in as one of the people who would lead Anthem’s future development. The game has had a bit of a rocky history since its reveal at E3 2017 and launch in 2019. However, there seems to be no correlation between Irving’s departure and Anthem’s issues.
Irving reassured fans of Anthem that they are in good hands and he’ll continue following and playing the title as time goes on.
(1/3) After 8 amazing years at BioWare I have made the decision to move on and have accepted an exciting opportunity at another gaming company. Since the first time I played Baldurs Gate many many years ago, BioWare was the dream place I always wanted to work.
— Ben Irving (@BenIrvo) August 15, 2019
Last week, Anthem received its major Cataclysm event update. Back in June 2019, EA CEO Andrew Wilson said that both the publisher and BioWare are committed to making the game better than the product players received at the game’s launch. However, a lack of timely updates and silence from BioWare have caused many players to become concerned or abandon the title altogether. The game launched in February 2019, but it has become largely irrelevant in the daily conversations surrounding the industry.
BioWare will continue to support Anthem in the coming weeks and months, but its long term future remains uncertain.