BioWare's Anthem is shutting down next year, EA announces
EA has announced that the online servers for BioWare’s widely criticized 2019 multiplayer action RPG, Anthem, will be shutting down early next year, leaving the game unplayable.
The details:
The servers for the game will be officially shut down on January 12, 2026. It will also be pulled from the EA Play subscription service for new players on August 15, 2025, but those with the game in their libraries will still be able to download and play it for now. Players can no longer purchase its in-game premium currency, although existing funds can be used until the shutdown date.
EA has clarified that the game’s shutdown will not result in any form of layoffs at the company. Given that post-release development on Anthem was paused in 2021, this isn’t too surprising but certainly welcome given the major layoffs affecting EA over the past few years.
With the shutdown, Anthem will be rendered unplayable on all platforms due to its always-online structure, unless BioWare introduces an offline mode prior to the closure.
Similar situations with other titles, such as Ubisoft’s The Crew, have led to discussions and movements within the industry to preserve online-only titles after official support has ended, the most notable being Stop Killing Games. The Stop Killing Games campaign has recently reached the required number of signatures on its UK and EU petitions to be discussed politically, with the goal being to force developers to offer alternative ways to play games that have been shut down.
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