Dragon Age and Mass Effect veteran David Gaider referred to Anthem in his criticism of Electronic Arts.

We can all agree that the video game industry is in crisis. Because of this, many developers are fired, companies close studios, or even delete games. In addition to the bad management and forecasts of the companies, one of the factors of the crisis is that the model of triple-A games is a complex issue due to the high development costs and the excessive time handled in this type of proposal. At Electronic Arts, they know all this well. But what can be the solution?

AI seems to be a possible solution in this situation, as one of its main functions is to make these types of titles cheaper and shorten development time.

However, this seems like a double-edged sword for many developers. After all, it is possible that they will be without a job due to artificial intelligence. Sooner or later, their work would be replaced by artificial intelligence. EA’s CEO is committed to artificial intelligence. He recently explained how he helped them with EA Sports FC. However, such statements did not sit well with the veteran developer who worked at BioWare for 17 years.

David Gaider, who expressed his displeasure at Electronic Arts’ “hunger” to bring AI into game development, said on his X/Twitter account: “In case it’s unclear, the “hunger” referred to here is the allure of a spreadsheet where the labor costs suddenly show as a tiny tiny bar compared to the other bars and a bunch of executives around a table nod and repeat “ROI” and “good, yes, good” over and over again.”

AI is a double-edged sword, but Electronic Arts is still wielding it

The BioWare veteran goes on to criticize the company in this matter: “They want you to believe the devs under them are super stoked to work generative AI into their processes,” continued Gaider, “but I assure you what they took as excitement was really a veiled wail of despair not unlike the time that team was informed of their new ‘really cool’ live service mandate,” he points out. The latter title he’s referring to is Anthem, BioWare’s biggest failure.

However, despite this, BioWare’s next game is expected to be Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. The latter may be published even this year, or at least before the end of the current fiscal year, until April 2025. Further down the line is Mass Effect 4, which is still in the early stages of development.

Source: X

In case it's unclear, the "hunger" referred to here is the allure of a spreadsheet where the labour costs suddenly show as a teeny tiny bar compared to the other bars and a bunch of executives around a table nod and repeat "ROI" and "good, yes, good" over and over again. https://t.co/akAMhghTzR

— David Gaider (@davidgaider) May 10, 2024