BioWare Flop ANTHEM Dies January 2026, Servers to Be Turned Off

PS4 game won’t be playable after server switch-off

by Liam Croft 7:15pm

EA has announced it’s taking the servers for BioWare flop ANTHEM offline on 12th January 2026. As a fully online game requiring an internet connection, this means it won’t be playable in any shape or form beyond that date.

It will remain online until then, but purchasable currency for use in the game has been withdrawn as of today. ANTHEM is also being removed from the list of playable games on EA Play on 15th August 2025. A post on the game’s website confirms “the sunsetting of Anthem has not led to any layoffs”.

The blog post also states: “We deeply appreciate your dedication, passion and support over the years and we’d like to thank you for that.” In an FAQ section, it states: “Anthem was designed to be an online-only title so once the servers go offline, the game will no longer be playable.”

EA and BioWare’s announcement comes very hot off the heels of the Stop Killing Games movement reaching more than one million signatures, which is trying to “challenge the legality of publishers destroying video games they have sold to customers”. As an online-only game that has no offline mode, it would fall under this category.

Released for PS4 in 2019, ANTHEM was BioWare’s biggest flop to date, as it moved away from the traditional RPGs it is known for and into the online space. While its flight mechanics were pretty good, there was little else to praise. The game managed to score just 59 on Metacritic and earned a 5/10 in our ANTHEM PS4 review.

“Given time, ANTHEM could slowly start to bloom into a much more cohesive experience, but the worry is that it won’t be given a chance. There’s a good game in here somewhere, but only the flashy, satisfying combat stands out amongst a background mess of shockingly bad design decisions and woefully undercooked systems.”

BioWare was actually considering going back to ANTHEM in the years following its release and giving it a complete overhaul, but it later decided not to. This decision came at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the developer said following through with its revival plans would have placed too much “undue stress on our teams”.

In six months’ time, that original work will completely disappear, and PS4 discs will only serve a purpose as a coaster.

[source ea.com]

Liam grew up with a PlayStation controller in his hands and a love for Metal Gear Solid. Nowadays, he’s found playing the latest and greatest PS5 games as well as supporting Derby County. That last detail is his downfall.

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