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Anthem’s Final Curtain Call Proves EA Still Doesn’t Know How to Handle Live-Service Games
- Credit: Electronic Arts

Annnd that’s how you mishandle a live-service title, folks! Anthem has officially hit the chopping block, marking yet another failed attempt by EA to maintain a large-scale online game. Starting January 12, 2026, Anthem will be unplayable, leaving players with a once-ambitious, currently unplayable $60 reminder of what happens when lofty promises and shoddy execution collide. That’s right, EA is pulling the plug on the Anthem servers and taking the game off EA Play as early as August 15, 2025. Yikes.

Anthem Already Dead?

“Wasn’t Anthem already dead?” you ask. Well, from an energy perspective, absolutely. BioWare’s “Destiny killer” was limp right out of the gate when it dropped in 2019, packed with tedious grind-fests, bugs, and a story that felt like it was slapped together over lunch breaks. That’s no hyperbole, either; development horror stories revealed the game’s creation was riddled with leadership changes and a go-stop-go production timeline straight out of a project management worst-case scenario.

But hey, EA did initially promise to breathe life into the game with an extensive overhaul dubbed “Anthem Next.” Unfortunately, that reboot fizzled out faster than your enthusiasm for a game-breaking bug when BioWare decided in 2021 to cancel development entirely. Since then, fans have been navigating their dwindling faith in EA with a sparkle of hope that Anthem might at least retain some server functionality. And now it’s getting wiped from existence.

Anthem’s Tale of Ambition… and Fall Flat on its Face

When Anthem hit the gaming scene, it dangled some pretty big carrots in front of players to justify its $60 price tag. A sprawling, open-world experience? Check. Highly customizable Javelins (basically Iron Man suits on steroids)? Check. Live-service updates for years to come? Check.

Yet, instead of delivering jaw-dropping experiences, Anthem quickly became a masterclass in overpromising and under-delivering. And yes, while it boasted some breathtaking visuals and relatively fun flight mechanics, the game’s flaws were impossible to ignore. The loot system? Broken. The storyline? Forgettable at best. And don’t even get me started on the repetitive grind cycle.

Critics didn’t hold back, either. Reviews for Anthem described it as uninspired, tedious, and weighed down by countless bugs. BioWare and EA finally admitted they were biting off more than they could chew with their ambitious promises. Somewhere between the initial excitement and a launch plagued by disappointment, Anthem became a cautionary tale of “too much hype, not enough delivery.”

A Problem Bigger Than Anthem

Credit: Electronic Arts

If this were just another fumbled release, it wouldn’t cut quite so deep. But Anthem’s demise highlights a much bigger conversation around the state of live-service games and the gaming industry as a whole. EA, like other heavy hitters, continues to churn out online-only experiences without creating sustainable plans for longevity.

Think about what this shutdown truly means. Since Anthem doesn’t have an offline mode, once the servers go down, the entire game becomes a cosmetic paperweight. And don’t think that goes unnoticed by fans who paid full price for the privilege. Online gamers have been challenging publishers, asking why there isn’t infrastructure in place to preserve these titles once their online “lifespan” expires. Could an offline mode really have been that difficult?

It’s particularly frustrating when you think about how digital game ownership operates nowadays. Consumers shell out cash with the promise of decades-long entertainment, but instead, live-service games like Anthem are marketed as products, only to suddenly become services that stop functioning when their revenue potential dries up. EA claims this move was “necessary,” but the subtext here is loud and clear: when player counts drop, corporate interest does too.

The End of an Era… and the Start of a Scrutiny Movement

Fans across various forums have already shared their thoughts about Anthem’s final curtain call, with some calling for organized petitions to stop similar practices in the future (looking at you, “Stop Killing Games” campaign). The underlying argument? Publishers need backup systems to ensure long-term accessibility, even if it means transitioning titles to private servers or incorporating offline capabilities.

Honestly, it’s not just Anthem fans who should be paying attention to this. If EA, Ubisoft, or any other big players don’t step up their support for “end-of-life” support for their products, today’s new AAA title could meet the same fate in five or so years. And no, promising long-term DLC while treating your base game like an extended beta tape isn’t the answer either (oops, did someone say The Division?).

Lessons Unlearned

Anthem serves as another reminder that triple-A developers and publishers need to rethink their strategy when it comes to live-service games. Here are a few quick takeaways for the gaming industry at-large, if anyone’s listening up there:

  • Transparency Matters: Drop the lofty promises and show us the game that you can actually maintain.
  • Plan for Longevity: Build frameworks that consider what happens when servers are no longer profitable but players want to keep the game alive.
  • Respect the Buyers: If a game goes offline, allow gamers to preserve access or implement refunds for recent purchases.

While BioWare soldiers on with its focus slowly shifting to Dragon Age and other projects (which, here’s hoping, turn out far better), Anthem is another domino dropping in the never-ending tale of live-service stumbling blocks.

At the end of the day, the gaming industry deserves a better standard for live-service games. And for fans who invested their money, time, and enthusiasm into Anthem, they deserved better, too.

This article first appeared on Total Apex Gaming and was syndicated with permission.

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