Updated at 7:30pm GMT: And it’s gone. It’s unclear exactly when the servers went down, but when we checked just before 7pm GMT, we were unable to connect to the game’s servers. So, it looks like this is the end of Anthem.
Original story 11:30 a.m. GMT: At some point today, EA will turn off Anthem servers, making BioWare’s multiplayer online shooter inaccessible and perhaps permanently unplayable. And we are already receiving nostalgic farewell calls one after another.
By the way, the exact end date is unknown. The only official confirmation is today’s date, January 12th. As of this morning, the game’s servers were still active. Perhaps that means they stay up until the end of the day, until the clock strikes midnight. But what time zone is midnight in? My best guess is Pacific Time, the time zone where EA’s Redwood City, California, headquarters is located. PT, 8 a.m. GMT tomorrow.
But I’ve also seen suggestions that Anthem servers could go down during the game’s maintenance window. The maintenance window was apparently around 8 a.m. ET or 1 p.m. GMT. I’ll keep an eye on it and work with EA to figure it out.
Perhaps fueled by this uncertainty, players have already begun to say goodbye to the game. The Anthem subreddit is full of them right now. In fact, it makes for a very moving read. The general format seems to be sharing a photo or short clip of a freelancer character wearing a javelin and sharing a word or two about the game.
It was an honor for all the freelancers.
byu/Zephyr2209 inanthem the game
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There are many variations to the sentiment “we are strongest together.”
These posts highlight that Anthem is a surprisingly engaging game, especially as you fly around the storm-prone jungle world of Coda, passing through giant crumbling ruins and flitting with strange flocks of birds. I was playing Anthem last week hoping to see the community come together at the end, and I was struck by how beautiful it was. Even the streets of Tharsis’s stronghold are beautiful to wander – that crumbling, almost Persian-style architectural fortress.
There has also been an increase in activity within the game as people return to their last flight or, as many do, complete the game’s achievements while they still can. The thought that the characters they spent hundreds of hours crafting, and proudly parading around the game’s social Launch Bay spaces, will no longer exist is a somber reminder of the ephemeral nature of server-based virtual heroes.
It’s also unclear if anything will happen in Anthem to commemorate the final moments, but since nothing else in the game seems to have changed, I don’t expect it to happen. Shops still charge for items, and XP and currency are all awarded the same way. No matter how you look at it, it looks like the game hasn’t been touched in any way. I’ll keep an eye on it again.
Anthem was scheduled to close last July.at which point EA removed the game from digital sales. EA thanked people for their “dedication, passion, and support” and confirmed that Anthem will not be playable offline. Anthem was originally released in 2019, but it didn’t catch on as much as EA BioWare had hoped.. There were plans for a major overhaul, or 2.0, but it was eventually abandoned, as was the game.