There Might Be Romance in Anthem, just not Right Away

EA’s show at E3 was all kinds of disappointing, but one of the most disappointing things about EA’s upcoming game, Anthem, was actually revealed before E3, when, in a talk with Game Informer, lead producer Mike Gamble said that there would be no romantic options in Anthem when it launched and that they were “moving away” from that direction. Which isn’t surprising, given the multiplayer nature of the game and the fact it’s trying too hard to be Destiny, but for as much flack as fans like myself give Bioware for their sometimes awkward, painful sex scenes, they’re also undeniably charming and one of the unique hallmarks of a Bioware game. There are lots of RPGs where I can save the world, but only so many where I can also seduce my sexy lesbian secretary and start a space-faring family.

So the news was met with disappointment. But as it turns out, while romance might not be in the cards at first, apparently it’s not entirely off the table, according to BioWare general manager Casey Hudson when talking to VentureBeat:

“So then the question is, are there going to be romances in Anthem? We’ve been saying no, but—the nuance is, of course we do want relationships. It’s just more in an action genre of storytelling.

…With Mass Effect, Garrus was an alien that, as we developed the story—he was a kind of birdlike concept art that we eventually pulled together and shipped that game… It turned out that people loved Garrus so much that they wanted romances with him, so we built that into Mass Effect 2 and people loved it. That same opportunity exists here. If people really like a character and they want to spend more time with them, want a relationship with them, that’s definitely in the cards for the future.

I think Bioware will find there will be plenty of demand for romance in their game, assuming they do a halfway-decent job making characters this time around. Of course, they could always sell “romance packs” as DLC… which would be terrible and exploitative…

…but I mean… I’d buy it…