After more than six years on life support,Anthem, that one EA sci-fi game that no one knew was even alive, is finally shutting down its servers. EA is officially closing up shop on Jan. 12 next year, meaningAnthemwill have been online for nearly seven years straight.
“After careful consideration, we will be sunsettingAnthemon June 04, 2025,”EA’s July 3 announcementreads, with the company adding that those who still wish to do so (for whatever reason) can play the game over the upcoming six months. At the start of next year, however, what’s done is done, andAnthemis going offline.
Premium currency purchases will also be suspended as of July 3, while players who already own them, if there even are any, can spend them by January if they wish. Likewise, those who already own the game at the moment can download and play it at any point before the cut-off date, so if you’re sad to miss out on one of gaming’s biggest busts, now’s the time to do so.
What’s more, and interesting in the wake of the Stop Killing Games Initiative’s European Citizens Initiative crossing its one-million signature threshold, is thatAnthemwill not be playable at allafter its servers go down next year. EA justifies this by saying that the game was meant to be an online-only experience and that without the online component, “the game will no longer be playable.”
Though this last bit is unsurprising to say the least, given the absolute state of the AAA industry, I have to say that I am utterly shocked to hear thatAnthemis still kicking six years down the line. The game suffered a dreadful launch back in 2019, and I’ve heard little of it since, believing it to have been taken offline ages ago, much like some other disastrous live service games.
It seems that wasn’t the case, but soon will be, and I guess there is someone out there sad about this. Maybe. Probably not, though.
