The Flight Ends: EA Officially Shuts Down Anthem Servers

On January 12, Electronic Arts officially pulled the plug on Anthem, the multiplayer action-RPG originally launched in 2019. Because the game was built as an always-online experience with no dedicated offline mode, the title is now permanently unplayable for all users.

Developed by BioWare—the legendary studio behind Mass Effect and Dragon Age—Anthem was set on a lush, dangerous planet left unfinished by its gods. Players stepped into the boots of Freelancers, pilots of powerful Javelin exosuits capable of flight and equipped with devastating weaponry. The game’s flying mechanics and verticality were initially praised, offering a unique sensation of movement through its stunning open-world environments.

However, Anthem suffered from a notoriously troubled development cycle and a rocky launch. Critics and players alike panned the game for its technical bugs, lackluster endgame content, repetitive mission design, and a narrative that many felt fell short of BioWare's usual high standards. Despite a planned Anthem NEXT (or Anthem 2.0) overhaul that aimed to fix these core issues, EA ultimately cancelled the project in 2021 to allow BioWare to focus its resources on the next entries in the Dragon Age and Mass Effect franchises.

The game ultimately sits with a 61/100 on OpenCritic and a 59/100 on Metacritic.

While the sun has set on the world of Bastion, BioWare is currently in active development on the fifth installment of the Mass Effect series.