It has now been confirmed that Steve Gilmour, the lead animator on Anthem, has left BioWare after 17 years of working for the company. Gilmour confirmed the departure with an update on LinkedIn which states that the developer had worked at BioWare since January 2000. The LinkedIn page also confirms that Gilmour worked as Anthem’s lead animator for two years and nine months, from December 2014 until August 2017.

During that time, Gilmour was responsible for “technical R&D for Frostbite game engine pipeline, pre-visualization for in-engine animations, motion capture planning and direction, [and] animation direction for team members.” Gilmour also performed a similar role as the lead animator for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Although BioWare has shown off very little of its game so far, Anthem does seem to have spectacular animation. The game looks highly realistic - or about as realistic as a futuristic sci-fi RPG can.

If the animations of the in-development game looks this good already then there’s no reason to believe that Gilmour’s departure will impact this in any way. And although Gilmour may have been a BioWare veteran, one person does not make a game and there are plenty of other animators working on the title.

But it’s understandable if fans are a little concerned. Mass Effect: Andromeda’s facial animations are now notorious because of their poor quality. Although there were other issues with that game, the animations and bugs in the BioWare RPG were heavily criticized and put at least some fans off of buying the game.

Moreover, this is the second high profile BioWare departure to happen recently. Just a month ago, BioWare creative director Mike Laidlaw left the company after 14 years of having worked at the studio. Fans are also raising questions about why BioWare is unable to hold onto top talent and if that will be reflected in the quality of Anthem or other future releases.

Anthem’s planned beta should help to put any doubts to rest, but fans may need a little more convincing in the meantime. The Game Awards next month would be a prime opportunity for BioWare to share more on the game and let fans know that development on Anthem is going well.

Anthem is currently scheduled to release sometime in the fall of 2018 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Source: Steve Gilmour - LinkedIn