Electronic Arts has officially announced that Anthem will be shutting down permanently on January 12, 2026. The online-only action RPG developed by BioWare will become completely unplayable after this date, as the game lacks any offline mode.
Released in February 2019, Anthem positioned players as Freelancers piloting powerful exosuits called Javelins in a shared world environment. Despite initial hype and ambitious marketing as a competitor to titles like Destiny, the game struggled almost immediately after launch.
“Sunsetting” is the term EA used to describe this shutdown, which will terminate all server support. Unlike some other online games that received offline modes after service ended, Anthem players will lose complete access to the game they purchased.
The announcement comes years after BioWare already abandoned plans for the game’s future. In February 2021, the studio officially canceled “Anthem Next” (also known as “Anthem 2.0”), a major overhaul that had been promised to fix the game’s numerous issues.
Since then, Anthem has received only minimal maintenance while player numbers dwindled. The game was widely criticized at launch for its lack of meaningful content, progression problems, technical bugs, and poorly designed loot systems.
Some players have expressed frustration over the lack of an offline option. “It’s so crazy to me that I can play a game like Marvel’s Avengers coop with my kids still to this day, yet a game like Anthem will be gone like The Crew,” one fan commented, referring to other online games that either received offline modes or were similarly discontinued.
Anthem‘s server shutdown follows a concerning trend in the industry where online-only games become completely inaccessible once publishers decide to end support. This practice has recently come under increased scrutiny, with initiatives like the “Stop Killing Games” petition in Europe advocating for digital game preservation.
Flying into the sunset
Once the servers go offline, all player progress, customizations, and purchases will be permanently lost. The only way to preserve any aspect of the gameplay experience will be through screenshots and video recordings made before the shutdown date.
BioWare has since refocused its efforts on upcoming installments in the Mass Effect and Dragon Age franchises, hoping to rebuild its reputation after Anthem‘s troubled development and reception.
