'Anthem' Director Discusses Upcoming Playtests Ahead of Launch

BioWare finally gave us what we've been wanting for so long - a look at the story that their upcoming IP Anthem has to offer. We got our first look at the ultimate enemy during The Game Awards and now the director has come forward to say a few words about the coming launch.

Earlier today we talked about how players can get their hands on the game early and now director Jon Warner wants to stress the motivation behind the playtest and what's left on the journey to launch.

"Anthem is a world and story that has lived inside of my heart and mind for a long while," said Warner in a recent BioWare blog post. "Two and a half years ago, we revealed Anthem at E3. And last night, we finally shared more about our story with a new trailer at The Game Awards. Seeing the amazing reactions was a much needed reminder of why we work so hard."

With numerous teams all working hard to get their parts ready for February, players will get a chance to try the game before it launches. "We conduct playtests to ensure the key systems and technology that power the game will hold up when we launch. For this one specifically, we are focusing on load balancing and scale testing our servers and matchmaking. We will be focusing the time windows of the playtest to give you the best opportunity to experience a slice of the game with others. We will also shut down the servers and games multiple times without notice and bring them all up again. This playtest is all about the group experience and the dedicated servers. We've focused the content on what is outside of Fort Tarsis to give you a chance to enjoy that experience. We've purposely built a small slice of the game, so we can look at those things while you play and enjoy the game. Therefore, the content in this playtest is about a month old and isn't reflective of how the game looks and performs today or how it will at launch."

Though the upcoming Alpha is for feedback, the team is also providing demos just for a chance to check it out with no strings attached. For those that already have their Closed Alpha codes, that play period will begin on December 8 and will end on the 9th. After that wraps, BioWare is done testing the game and wants to simply offer a demo. Two, in fact.

The first is the VIP demo which will only be available to those that pre-ordered the title. In addition to being able to play the game early, those that pre-ordered will also have an exclusive in-game item waiting for them to show off that they were among the first to get their hands on the online game. For VIP access, those dates are January 25 - 27.

Following the VIP demo, a separate one will become available for all. From February 1 through the 3rd, players will be able to take part in the open demo to see exactly who BioWare's open-world MMORPG works.

Thoughts on Anthem so far? Join in on the conversation in the comment section below, or hit me up on Twitter @DirtyEffinHippy for even more game-age!