https://thenextweb.com/gaming/2019/04/05/bioware-anthem-developers-crunch-industry/

We recently discovered a new perpetrator of the dreaded “crunch culture” of video game development — the legendary Bioware. When Kotaku‘s Jason Schreier wrote an article about the struggles during development of Anthem, the studio lashed out, before privately admitting that maybe it does have problems. The whole account is almost a microcosm of the problems with believing in the value of crunch, and why it just doesn’t work.

The article, titled “How BioWare’s Anthem Went Wrong,” cited numerous Bioware employees who reported health problems as a result of the rough schedule needed in the months pre-launch to get Anthem out the door. Some staff members broke down under stress or straight-up never returned after a doctor-mandated health leave. There were other problems with the team that led to that point, including the need to stick with the difficult Frostbite game engine, but the human cost of the project appears to be measured in how many people flamed out before the game hit the shelves. The picture Schreier paints ain’t a pretty one.