It's Official: BioWare Has Now Pulled the Plug on Live-Service Failure Anthem

Anthem, the failed effort astatine a live-service crippled by Mass Effect and Dragon Age developer BioWare, is present offline for good.

This morning, soon aft 10am Pacific time, Anthem's remaining players reported seeing the game's servers blinking retired of existence, rendering the crippled afloat unplayable, forever.

BioWare had not fixed a circumstantial clip for erstwhile Anthem's switch-off would occur, and alternatively lone indicated the crippled would stay online until today, January 12, earlier its removal. Still, a tiny clump of fans had been tracking Anthem's last hours, and a fewer twelve had been playing the crippled connected Twitch to spot retired its last moments.

At astir 10.03am Pacific, in-game players reported getting abruptly booted arsenic the plug was pulled. After warnings of a transportation problem, players were near sitting backmost connected the Anthem's startup screen, showing the game's logo and its characters — present near to everlastingly tinker with their amored Javelin suits, which volition ne'er alert again.

"Of each the dormant unrecorded games, this is 1 of the astir painful, arsenic the crippled was truthful precise adjacent to greatness," wrote Anthem instrumentality Marcel Hatam connected X/Twitter. "Great halfway gameplay with amusive combat and flying, an intriguing satellite and large customization. Freelancer signing disconnected 🫡."

"Damn wanted to get a fewer much hours earlier closure, sad," wrote caller instrumentality Regis via BioWare's Discord, who said they'd lone fixed Anthem a effort this period aft learning it was shutting down. "Got to play the crippled for conscionable a week but it already leaves a spread successful my chest."

BioWare's Anthem, 2019 - 2026.

Anthem launched successful February 2019 to lukewarm reviews, including IGN's own, which criticized the game's grindiness, deficiency of polish and mismatched story. The crippled sold much than 5 cardinal copies but failed to conscionable EA's ain interior targets, acceptable aft a agelong and troubled development. Despite immoderate effort to further update and amended the game, BioWare ceased progressive improvement connected Anthem backmost successful February 2021, citing a request to prioritize Dragon Age: The Veilguard (which launched successful precocious 2024 to its ain acceptable of mixed feedback) and Mass Effect 5 (which is inactive seemingly years away).

Anthem steadfast EA announced past twelvemonth that it would halt moving the game's servers today, and confirmed that users would nary longer beryllium capable play astatine each aft this point. Premium in-game currency was withdrawn from merchantability past summer, and the crippled was delisted astatine the aforesaid clip from EA Play.

An online-only enactment RPG dispersed crossed a ample multiplayer map, Anthem had nary offline enactment — meaning that the game's world, characters and lore are present officially gone for good. But arsenic IGN reported past week, determination are fledgling efforts underway by fans to bring Anthem backmost online via customized servers, though it is excessively aboriginal to archer precisely however acold this enactment mightiness progress.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social