BioWare’s Failed RPG Anthem Will Be Unplayable Soon

EA is pulling the plug on Anthem, BioWare’s failed RPG. BioWare was at one point one of the most respected RPG developers out there. Now? Not so much. The developer is best known for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age, but the last decade has been met with miss after miss for both new and old franchises. It’s tough times to be a BioWare fan, especially after Dragon Age: The Veilguard bombed after years of development. There is still hope for Mass Effect 4, but if that is another fail, then who knows what will happen to the studio after that.

After Dragon Age: Inquisition in 2014, BioWare was working on two games. One was a new Mass Effect game that also failed to impress fans and the other one was a brand new sci-fi RPG known as Anthem. The game was really appealing prior to its launch due to its Iron Man-esque flying mechanics and gunplay, but ultimately, the game came out and felt extremely shallow. It left a lot to be desired and as a result, it was a commercial bomb. There was going to be an effort to revitalize Anthem, but that never happened, much to the dismay of those who saw potential in the game’s bones.

With that said, Anthem hasn’t had an update in years and in 2026, it will cease to exist entirely. It has been announced that Anthem will shut down in 2026 and no longer be playable. Given Anthem is an online, live-service game, it will not have any funcitonality once this happens. As a result, you have until January 12th, 2026 to play Anthem, but after that, it’s gone forever. Anthem will also be taken off of EA Play on August 12th, which is the only way to play the game right now unless you already purchased it.

“We have an important update to share regarding Anthem,” reads a statement from BioWare. “After careful consideration, we will be sunsetting Anthem on January 12, 2026. This means that the game will still be playable online for the next 180+ days. As of today, you can no longer purchase in-game premium currency, but you can still use your remaining balance until the servers go offline. We deeply appreciate your dedication, passion and support over the years and we’d like to thank you for that.”

Some of the people behind Anthem want to see the game rebooted again, but it seems unlikely that will ever happen. It’s a shame to see a great idea squandered, but it’s also partially because the game wasn’t given the time to cook. A developer revealed that Anthem was developed in just a year and a half, which is obviously not enough time to make a game like this and execute it well.