EA's beleaguered online shooter Anthem is shutting down for good on January 12, 2026. The game will be removed from the company's storefront ahead of that on August 15. It'll be available for download after that date so long as it's already in your library.
Some aspects of the game have already begun winding down. Players can no longer purchase premium in-game currency as of today, though they can still use existing balances to buy stuff. Anthem is a game that can only be played online, so once the servers shut down in January it will be bricked.
The game launched in 2019 to poor reviews that called out the reliance on grinding and an overall lack of polish. This wasn't helped by a number of bugs that plagued early builds. Developer BioWare promised fixes, but those took a while to get implemented.
By then, the damage to the brand was too severe. BioWare ceased active development of Anthem in 2021, which was followed by the game's director leaving the company. In other words, we all kind of knew this shutdown was coming.
EA says that no layoffs occurred at the company as a result of this decision. However, that's likely because BioWare has already been through several steep staffing cuts. EA laid off 50 BioWare employees in 2023. This was followed by even more layoffs after Dragon Age: The Veilguard underperformed.
BioWare currently has an operating staff of less than 100 people. The company is currently focused on the development of Mass Effect 5.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/anthem-is-officially-shutting-down-on-january-12-185236926.html?src=rss
