Anthem
BioWare · EA · 2019 · Online looter-shooter
Did the studio keep supporting this game after launch? This page is the evidence.BioWare promised a full reinvention, cancelled it two years later, and EA finally switched the servers off with no way to play what you paid for.
01Score breakdown
Five categories, 20 points each, 100 total. Full method on the methodology page.
02The evidence
Anthem launched on February 22, 2019 with marathon loading screens, broken loot and almost no endgame; BioWare patched briskly at first but punted the deep fixes to a promised three-Act roadmap, then abandoned that roadmap for seasonal updates after the Cataclysm arrived six months late. In February 2020 BioWare promised a full 'Anthem Next' redesign — and cancelled it in February 2021, moving the team to Dragon Age and Mass Effect. The servers idled in maintenance mode until EA announced their shutdown in July 2025; on January 12, 2026 the game became permanently unplayable, with no offline mode and no refunds.
- Early patches landed quickly, but the fundamental loot and endgame problems were deferred to a redesign that never shipped.
- The three-Act roadmap was abandoned after one late Cataclysm, and no new content shipped after February 2020.
- The promised Anthem Next overhaul was cancelled in 2021, and the 2026 server shutdown came with no offline mode or refunds.
- To its credit, EA kept the servers running for five years after active development ended and gave six months' shutdown notice.
03Sources
04Audit record
- Launch date
- Feb 22, 2019
- Evidence coverage through
- Jan 12, 2026
- Methodology
- v1.0
- Audit confidence
- Medium
- Why this confidence
- Seven years of press coverage plus quoted official statements give a complete arc, but EA's shutdown FAQ and BioWare's cancellation blog were verified through press reporting rather than inspected first-party.
- Score band
- Failing (Tier F)