Anthem server shutdown: Difference between revisions

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{{IncidentCargo

|Company=Electronic Arts, BioWare

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|Description=EA plans to shut down Anthem's always-online servers on January 12, 2026, rendering the game completely unplayable for all owners.

}}{{Incomplete|Issue 1=Missing responses section, both from EA (if any) and consumers|Issue 2=Fix the citations to follow standard formattting}}

On July 3, 2025, [[Electronic Arts]] (EA) and [[BioWare]] announced the "sunsetting", or server shutdown, of their video game ''[[Anthem]],'' with January 12, 2026, set as the shutdown date.<ref name=":0">https://www.ea.com/games/anthem/news/anthem-game-update</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Hore |first=Jamie |date=Jul 3, 2025 |title=Anthem will soon die for good, as Bioware confirms a full server shut down |url=https://www.pcgamesn.com/anthem/servers-shutting-down-bioware |url-status=live |archive-url=https://~~archive~~.ph/~~GiJw7~~ |archive-date=~~4 Jul~~ 2025 |access-date=Jul 4, 2025 |work=Ars Technica}}</ref> Premium in-game currency was taken off sale on the same day as the announcement,<ref name=":0" /> and the game was removed from the [[EA Play]] and [[Xbox Game Pass Ultimate]] libraries on August 15, 2025.<ref name=":1">https://in.ign.com/bioware-edmonton-project/235520/news/ea-will-shut-down-anthem-in-january</ref> ''[[Anthem]]'' is an "online-only title", so the game will no longer be playable after sunset.<ref name=":0" />

On July 3, 2025, [[Electronic Arts]] (EA) and [[BioWare]] announced the "sunsetting", or server shutdown, of their video game ''[[Anthem]],'' with January 12, 2026, set as the shutdown date.<ref name=":0">https://www.ea.com/games/anthem/news/anthem-game-update ([http://web.archive.org/web/20260111142943/https://www.ea.com/games/anthem/news/anthem-game-update Archived])</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Hore |first=Jamie |date=Jul 3, 2025 |title=Anthem will soon die for good, as Bioware confirms a full server shut down |url=https://www.pcgamesn.com/anthem/servers-shutting-down-bioware |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250902201052/https://www.pcgamesn.com/anthem/servers-shutting-down-bioware |archive-date=2 Sep 2025|access-date=Jul 4, 2025 |work=Ars Technica}}</ref> Premium in-game currency was taken off sale on the same day as the announcement,<ref name=":0" /> and the game was removed from the [[EA Play]] and [[Xbox Game Pass Ultimate]] libraries on August 15, 2025.<ref name=":1">https://in.ign.com/bioware-edmonton-project/235520/news/ea-will-shut-down-anthem-in-january ([https://web.archive.org/web/20260215215952/https://www.ign.com/articles/ea-will-shut-down-anthem-in-january Archived])</ref> ''[[Anthem]]'' is an "online-only title", so the game will no longer be playable after sunset.<ref name=":0" />

==Background==

'''<big>Post-Release Trajectory</big>'''

''[[Anthem]]'' is an online multiplayer role-playing game (RPG) developed by [[BioWare]] and published by EA. The game was released on February 22, 2019,<ref>https://www.gamespot.com/articles/anthem-was-released-two-years-ago-a-quick-recap-of-its-history-and-what-could-come-next/1100-6487883/ ([http://web.archive.org/web/20251017225723/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/anthem-was-released-two-years-ago-a-quick-recap-of-its-history-and-what-could-come-next/1100-6487883/ Archived])</ref> and had widely "lukewarm reviews",<ref name=":1" /> such as [https://in.ign.com/ IGN]'s 6.5/10 and [https://gameinformer.com Game Informer]'s 7/10.<ref>https://in.ign.com/bioware-edmonton-project ([http://web.archive.org/web/20260211115658/https://in.ign.com/bioware-edmonton-project Archived])</ref><ref name=":2">https://gameinformer.com/review/anthem/grinding-gears</ref> Due to this mixed reception, the game's sales failed to reach EA's March 2019 target of 5-6 million copies,<ref>https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/-i-anthem-i-fell-short-of-ea-s-sales-expectations ([http://web.archive.org/web/20251018072532/https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/-i-anthem-i-fell-short-of-ea-s-sales-expectations Archived])</ref> only reaching the milestone in December 2023.<ref name=":1" /> Despite this, active development of the game continued, and a major update dubbed "Anthem 2.0" was announced to be in the works in October 2020.<ref name=":2" /> However, this update was cancelled and active development of the game was discontinued in February 2021 as [[BioWare]] shifted resources towards other projects.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

''[[Anthem]]'' is an online multiplayer role-playing game (RPG) developed by [[BioWare]] and published by EA. The game was released on February 22, 2019,<ref>https://www.gamespot.com/articles/anthem-was-released-two-years-ago-a-quick-recap-of-its-history-and-what-could-come-next/1100-6487883/ ([http://web.archive.org/web/20251017225723/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/anthem-was-released-two-years-ago-a-quick-recap-of-its-history-and-what-could-come-next/1100-6487883/ Archived])</ref> and had widely "lukewarm reviews",<ref name=":1" /> such as [https://in.ign.com/ IGN]'s 6.5/10 and [https://gameinformer.com Game Informer]'s 7/10.<ref>https://in.ign.com/bioware-edmonton-project ([http://web.archive.org/web/20260211115658/https://in.ign.com/bioware-edmonton-project Archived])</ref><ref name=":2">https://gameinformer.com/review/anthem/grinding-gears ([https://web.archive.org/web/20260215220106/https://gameinformer.com/review/anthem/grinding-gears Archived])</ref> Due to this mixed reception, the game's sales failed to reach EA's March 2019 target of 5-6 million copies,<ref>https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/-i-anthem-i-fell-short-of-ea-s-sales-expectations ([http://web.archive.org/web/20251018072532/https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/-i-anthem-i-fell-short-of-ea-s-sales-expectations Archived])</ref> only reaching the milestone in December 2023.<ref name=":1" /> Despite this, active development of the game continued, and a major update dubbed "Anthem 2.0" was announced to be in the works in October 2020.<ref name=":2" /> However, this update was cancelled and active development of the game was discontinued in February 2021 as [[BioWare]] shifted resources towards other projects.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

<big>'''Always-Online Functionality'''</big>

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==References==

[[Category:~~Electronic Arts~~]]

[[Category:Anthem]]

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+{{Cleanup}}
 {{IncidentCargo
 |Company=Electronic Arts, BioWare
@@ Line 8: / Line 9: @@
 |Description=EA plans to shut down Anthem's always-online servers on January 12, 2026, rendering the game completely unplayable for all owners.
 }}{{Incomplete|Issue 1=Missing responses section, both from EA (if any) and consumers|Issue 2=Fix the citations to follow standard formattting}}
-On July 3, 2025, [[Electronic Arts]] (EA) and [[BioWare]] announced the "sunsetting", or server shutdown, of their video game ''[[Anthem]],'' with January 12, 2026, set as the shutdown date.<ref name=":0">https://www.ea.com/games/anthem/news/anthem-game-update</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Hore |first=Jamie |date=Jul 3, 2025 |title=Anthem will soon die for good, as Bioware confirms a full server shut down |url=https://www.pcgamesn.com/anthem/servers-shutting-down-bioware |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/GiJw7 |archive-date=4 Jul 2025 |access-date=Jul 4, 2025 |work=Ars Technica}}</ref> Premium in-game currency was taken off sale on the same day as the announcement,<ref name=":0" /> and the game was removed from the [[EA Play]] and [[Xbox Game Pass Ultimate]] libraries on August 15, 2025.<ref name=":1">https://in.ign.com/bioware-edmonton-project/235520/news/ea-will-shut-down-anthem-in-january</ref> ''[[Anthem]]'' is an "online-only title", so the game will no longer be playable after sunset.<ref name=":0" />
+On July 3, 2025, [[Electronic Arts]] (EA) and [[BioWare]] announced the "sunsetting", or server shutdown, of their video game ''[[Anthem]],'' with January 12, 2026, set as the shutdown date.<ref name=":0">https://www.ea.com/games/anthem/news/anthem-game-update ([http://web.archive.org/web/20260111142943/https://www.ea.com/games/anthem/news/anthem-game-update Archived])</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Hore |first=Jamie |date=Jul 3, 2025 |title=Anthem will soon die for good, as Bioware confirms a full server shut down |url=https://www.pcgamesn.com/anthem/servers-shutting-down-bioware |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250902201052/https://www.pcgamesn.com/anthem/servers-shutting-down-bioware |archive-date=2 Sep 2025|access-date=Jul 4, 2025 |work=Ars Technica}}</ref> Premium in-game currency was taken off sale on the same day as the announcement,<ref name=":0" /> and the game was removed from the [[EA Play]] and [[Xbox Game Pass Ultimate]] libraries on August 15, 2025.<ref name=":1">https://in.ign.com/bioware-edmonton-project/235520/news/ea-will-shut-down-anthem-in-january ([https://web.archive.org/web/20260215215952/https://www.ign.com/articles/ea-will-shut-down-anthem-in-january Archived])</ref> ''[[Anthem]]'' is an "online-only title", so the game will no longer be playable after sunset.<ref name=":0" />
 ==Background==
 '''<big>Post-Release Trajectory</big>'''
-''[[Anthem]]'' is an online multiplayer role-playing game (RPG) developed by [[BioWare]] and published by EA. The game was released on February 22, 2019,<ref>https://www.gamespot.com/articles/anthem-was-released-two-years-ago-a-quick-recap-of-its-history-and-what-could-come-next/1100-6487883/ ([http://web.archive.org/web/20251017225723/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/anthem-was-released-two-years-ago-a-quick-recap-of-its-history-and-what-could-come-next/1100-6487883/ Archived])</ref> and had widely "lukewarm reviews",<ref name=":1" /> such as [https://in.ign.com/ IGN]'s 6.5/10 and [https://gameinformer.com Game Informer]'s 7/10.<ref>https://in.ign.com/bioware-edmonton-project ([http://web.archive.org/web/20260211115658/https://in.ign.com/bioware-edmonton-project Archived])</ref><ref name=":2">https://gameinformer.com/review/anthem/grinding-gears</ref> Due to this mixed reception, the game's sales failed to reach EA's March 2019 target of 5-6 million copies,<ref>https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/-i-anthem-i-fell-short-of-ea-s-sales-expectations ([http://web.archive.org/web/20251018072532/https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/-i-anthem-i-fell-short-of-ea-s-sales-expectations Archived])</ref> only reaching the milestone in December 2023.<ref name=":1" /> Despite this, active development of the game continued, and a major update dubbed "Anthem 2.0" was announced to be in the works in October 2020.<ref name=":2" /> However, this update was cancelled and active development of the game was discontinued in February 2021 as [[BioWare]] shifted resources towards other projects.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
+''[[Anthem]]'' is an online multiplayer role-playing game (RPG) developed by [[BioWare]] and published by EA. The game was released on February 22, 2019,<ref>https://www.gamespot.com/articles/anthem-was-released-two-years-ago-a-quick-recap-of-its-history-and-what-could-come-next/1100-6487883/ ([http://web.archive.org/web/20251017225723/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/anthem-was-released-two-years-ago-a-quick-recap-of-its-history-and-what-could-come-next/1100-6487883/ Archived])</ref> and had widely "lukewarm reviews",<ref name=":1" /> such as [https://in.ign.com/ IGN]'s 6.5/10 and [https://gameinformer.com Game Informer]'s 7/10.<ref>https://in.ign.com/bioware-edmonton-project ([http://web.archive.org/web/20260211115658/https://in.ign.com/bioware-edmonton-project Archived])</ref><ref name=":2">https://gameinformer.com/review/anthem/grinding-gears ([https://web.archive.org/web/20260215220106/https://gameinformer.com/review/anthem/grinding-gears Archived])</ref> Due to this mixed reception, the game's sales failed to reach EA's March 2019 target of 5-6 million copies,<ref>https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/-i-anthem-i-fell-short-of-ea-s-sales-expectations ([http://web.archive.org/web/20251018072532/https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/-i-anthem-i-fell-short-of-ea-s-sales-expectations Archived])</ref> only reaching the milestone in December 2023.<ref name=":1" /> Despite this, active development of the game continued, and a major update dubbed "Anthem 2.0" was announced to be in the works in October 2020.<ref name=":2" /> However, this update was cancelled and active development of the game was discontinued in February 2021 as [[BioWare]] shifted resources towards other projects.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
 <big>'''Always-Online Functionality'''</big>
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 ==References==
 {{reflist}}
-[[Category:Electronic Arts]]
+[[Category:Anthem]]