@TheShadowHatter@DAKKADAKKA1 Jaffe talked about it in an e3 interview and podcast from like 10 years ago that's no longer online. Least not that I could find, just other posts referencing the same interview when I went googling for it.
@therealcliffyb Hard disagree.
Anya did not exist to one up Marcus and friends to prove women are better. Both her, Sam, and Bernie were great characters in their own right. They were examples of how you do female characters, and I don't think Gears gets enough credit for it.