ANTHEM News
February2021
News ANTHEM's Big Overhaul Has Been Cancelled
Small team moved on to Dragon Age 4
Following an internal meeting earlier this month, the major overhaul planned for BioWare's ANTHEM has now been officially cancelled. A new blog post states that while the live service will remain active, development on any new content or updates has ceased. "I know this will be disappointing to the community of...
Rumour EA Will Decide If ANTHEM Lives or Dies This Week
Publisher to evaluate ANTHEM Next
A big ANTHEM overhaul has been in the works at BioWare since at least early 2020, following the game's incredibly shaky launch back in February 2019. And now, it's apparently time for EA to step in and see whether it thinks that the project is still worth backing. According to a new Bloomberg report, the publish
May2020
News ANTHEM's Big Overhaul Is Still a Long Way From Release
It's in "incubation"
Back in February, ANTHEM developer BioWare revealed that an overhaul of the game was in the works. Touted as "a more substantial reinvention than an update or expansion" by general manager Casey Hudson, it's been months since we've heard anything more about ANTHEM's future. The good news is that BioWare has broken the silence...
February2020
Soapbox 7 Things BioWare Needs to Fix to Rebuild ANTHEM
This is the ANTHEM, throw your patch up
Do you remember ANTHEM? I do. Despite Mass Effect: Andromeda’s disappointing release, I felt sure that BioWare would be back with a bang, with an attempt at the shared-world shooter, no less – my favourite genre. Of course, what we got just simply wasn’t good enough. Anthem launched last year as a...
News ANTHEM Is Being Reinvented Over the Coming Months, Says BioWare
Mech it happen
ANTHEM ain't dead yet, according to a new development update from BioWare. With the poorly received looter shooter's first anniversary happening later this month, the developer has broken its silence on what it wants to accomplish with ANTHEM moving forwards. General Manager Casey Hudson writes: " will require a more substantial...
News ANTHEM Still Has Christmas Decorations as BioWare Remains Silent on Future Plans
Season's greetin'
Oh ANTHEM, what even are you anymore? The disastrous looter shooter's creeping up on its first birthday, but unless BioWare works some kind of miracle, there won't be much cause for celebration. You may have seen it floating around the web already, but on this latest episode of 'Let's All Point and Laugh at ANTHEM', the game's...
November2019
Rumour ANTHEM Reportedly Not Dead as BioWare Plans Major Overhauls
Reboot ala Final Fantasy XIV?
ANTHEM's incredibly rocky road from launch to the game a handful of people might still be playing today is very well documented, so let's cut right to the chase. According to a new report from Kotaku, developer BioWare has big plans for its looter shooter that will completely overhaul the entire experience -- dubbed...
News ANTHEM's New Mass Effect Skins are Probably the Coolest Things in the Game at This Point
But they ain't cheap
BioWare's added four Mass Effect-inspired skins to ANTHEM, just in time for N7 Day. And you know what? They're actually pretty cool. The Ranger gets a Turian skin, the Colossus gets a Krogan skin, the Storm gets an Asari skin, and Interceptor gets a Quarian skin. But of course, there's always a catch. There's no easy way to...
News ANTHEM Head of Live Service Departs BioWare
Another one
It's safe to assume that not many people are working on ANTHEM right now. The game's had one heck of a rough year, launching all the way back in February to lukewarm reviews and then gradually falling apart in the months that followed. We'd be shocked if it currently has anything that remotely resembles a healthy userbase at this point...
October2019
News Returning to ANTHEM May Just Be the Scariest Thing You Can Do This Halloween
Trick or treat?
Halloween is a holiday flush with abandoned areas, so perhaps it’s not all that strange that BioWare has opted to celebrate the season. The oft-forgotten ANTHEM has launched a new event to pull players back in; named the Season of Skulls, the looter-shooter’s latest content drop finds the folk of Bastion “rising up against the...
Deal BioWare's PS4 Sci-Fi Shooter ANTHEM Is Going for Crazy Low Prices on Amazon
One hit wonder
It's no secret that BioWare's ANTHEM has failed to garner much attention. Following an indifferent critical reception and a chain of issues, it feels like the game is pretty much dead and buried already. The developer did attempt to rekindle interest by promising some more content updates, but this didn't really make much of a dent...
September2019
News BioWare Reveals What's Next for ANTHEM, and Proceeds to Announce Absolutely Nothing
This isn't our favourite dev on the Citadel
Ah yes, BioWare is still trying to keep its failed looter-shooter alive. ANTHEM is dead in the water, but in an effort to keep its tiny community engaged, the former Mass Effect developer has issued an update on its blog pertaining to what lies ahead of the game. The problem is, head of live service Chad...
News ANTHEM Comes to EA Access on PS4 Today
For those that are still curious
And there it is, ANTHEM is now a part of Electronic Arts' subscription-based service on PlayStation 4, EA Access. It was an inevitable addition, but Bioware's failure of a looter shooter can now be enjoyed alongside a long list of other PS4 titles for £3.99/$4.99 a month. It should be found within the Vault tab on...
August2019
News ANTHEM Lead Producer Leaves BioWare
Another nail
ANTHEM lead producer Ben Irving -- who's appeared on many an ANTHEM livestream over the last nine months or so -- has revealed that he's leaving BioWare after eight years with the developer. Irving has basically been the spokesperson for ANTHEM since it launched -- he appeared at EA's E3 show to talk about the game's future. Of course,...
News ANTHEM 1.3 PS4 Patch Finally Adds Cataclysm Event, But Nobody Seems to Care
New story missions
Remember ANTHEM? It has been a hot second since Bioware's failure of a looter shooter was in the news cycle, but it looks like the studio is still trying to right the ship with another substantial patch, for now at least. Update 1.3.0 finally adds the end-game Cataclysm event to the game - something that was originally promised to...
July2019
News No Man's Sky's Sean Murray Gives Telling Advice to ANTHEM and Fallout 76 Devs
Listen up
It's no secret that No Man's Sky has come a long, long way since it launched back in 2016. Developer Hello Games knuckled down and put its all into improving the game over the last few years, and now the title's the best that it's ever been. It took some time, but we got there in the end. Unfortunately, No Man's Sky isn't the most recent...
June2019
News ANTHEM Cataclysm Outrage Could Be the Death Knell for BioWare's Looter Shooter
Eye of the storm
Things are not looking good for ANTHEM right now. To be fair, things haven't looked good for months, but this latest tidal wave of disappointment could well be the final nail in the coffin for BioWare's looter shooter. At this point ANTHEM's downfall is incredibly well documented, but if you're somehow late to the party, allow us...
May2019
News Good News? ANTHEM's Cataclysm Event Is Still Coming
BioWare not done yet
We were going to start this article with a hearty helping of snark, but to be honest we just feel sorry for ANTHEM these days. The game may have sold a substantial number of copies out of the gate, but frankly it’s been a disaster, and there’s no use in us rubbing further salt in the wound. If you did happen to buy it –...
News ANTHEM Is Nowhere to Be Seen Among EA Play Livestream Schedule
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order gameplay to feature
EA has just detailed what to expect from its upcoming Play event, which will feature nearly four hours of livestreamed content across Saturday 8th June. There'll be the typical FIFA and Madden NFL reveals, Apex Legends and Battle
News ANTHEM Sales Failed to Meet Expectations Despite Record Digital Performance, Says EA
"We've doubled down on the product"
This news probably shouldn't come as too big of a surprise, but BioWare's troubled sci-fi shooter ANTHEM doesn't appear to be selling all that well. During its recent finance call, publisher EA said the game hasn't met its expectations. When you consider that servers are struggling to fill up due to a lack of...
News Latest ANTHEM Patch Removes Cosmetic Rewards That Were Added After Launch
Another one bites the dust
It's obvious that ANTHEM has both a content and loot problem, but it probably doesn't help matters when developer BioWare is removing cosmetic rewards from Stronghold chests itself. Elysian Caches were taken out of ANTHEM with today's 1.1.1 patch, with only a chance that they'll return at some point in the future. The...
News BioWare Remains '100% Committed' to ANTHEM Following Developer Downsizing Speculation
BioWare reiterates its stance
Several key BioWare staff members have recently stepped away from ANTHEM, with the likes of executive producer Mark Darrah turning his attention to Dragon Age 4. Not exactly surprising news given how live service titles are usually handled, but there's been a lot of speculati
April2019
News ANTHEM Matchmaking Is Falling Apart, Seemingly Due to a Lack of Active Players
A slippery slope
Look, we don't want to necessarily kick ANTHEM while it's down (and let's face it, it's been down for a while), but we're now reaching a worrying point in the game's life. As reported across the title's official forums as well as boards like Reddit and throughout social media, the game's currently facing a bit of a matchmaking...
News Devs Give Update Following ANTHEM Patch, Key Features Are Delayed
"We believe in ANTHEM"
BioWare has issued a statement over on Reddit with regards to ANTHEM. The game's latest update has just launched, adding a fresh stronghold and some welcome quality of life changes -- but it's not all good news. As the developer focuses on further improvements, such as bug fixes and better game stability, it's noted that some...
News ANTHEM Player Survey Reveals Some Troubling Statistics
Remember ANTHEM?
ANTHEM only launched a couple of months ago but it already feels like the game has completely fallen off a cliff. BioWare's looter shooter failed to find any kind of momentum post-launch, partly because it was hit with a recurring barrage of bad press. The title no longer makes it onto the top 40 of the UK charts, and it barely...
News BioWare Responds to Damning ANTHEM Development Report with Studio Statement
"The creative process is often difficult"
Hot on the heels of Kotaku's in-depth report on the serious troubles of ANTHEM's development, BioWare has issued a statement. "We’d like to take a moment to address an article published this morning about BioWare, and Anthem’s development," it begins. "We chose not to comment or participate in this...
The list goes on
An impressively in-depth report on the development of ANTHEM has been published over on Kotaku. Based on statements from a number of anonymous BioWare employees, news editor Jason Schreier outlines the game's incredibly rocky road to release. The report also highlights poor working conditions behind closed doors at developer...
March2019
Deja vu
Really? Are we really doing this again? After just a few hours of relative optimism, the ANTHEM community is already going mental over the game's latest patch. Update 1.04 launched yesterday evening, promising improvements to loot and (gasp!) the removal of a particularly annoying loading screen. It all sounded great on paper, but in...
News ANTHEM's Massive 1.04 Update Is Here, Actually Removes a Loading Screen
Reforged
It's been a rocky old ride for ANTHEM, but this latest update should be a step in the right direction. Patch 1.04 is available to download now, weighing it at around 2.4GB on PlayStation 4. The update features a long list of adjustments, improvements, and additions, so we'll quickly run through the highlights. For starters, the patch...
News ANTHEM Launch 'Rougher' Than BioWare Expected, Says 'the Best Is Yet to Come'
Got a job for you, freelancer
ANTHEM's been out for a few weeks now, but it's safe to say that it's struggled to find its footing. From lukewarm critic reviews to increasingly prevalent gameplay issues, it feels like ANTHEM's barely had a chance to establish itself. However, BioWare says that it's still very much committed to the project, and will...
Soapbox ANTHEM Has Crash-Landed, and Now It Needs to Win Players Back
Lloyd analyses ANTHEM's rocky first few weeks
Hope is a fragile thing in the world of video games. For every E3 showcase and launch trailer, there are day one patches and server queues. It’s natural to want something to be better because only the coldest of hearts would wish failure on a creative endeavour that so many have poured so much into...
News Quick ANTHEM Update Improves Endgame Loot Chances
In tune
BioWare's made a quick tweak to ANTHEM's endgame loot system, making powerful masterwork and legendary items drop more frequently on Grandmaster 2 and Grandmaster 3 difficulty levels. Drop rates have also been increased when defeating harder enemies. "This includes: Legendary Titan, Epic Titan, Legendary Fury, Legendary Acid Ursix and...
News ANTHEM's Latest Update Has Broken the Game on a Fundamental Level
It just gets worse
Just when you think ANTHEM can't possibly be hit with any more bad press... This happens. In a huge post, Reddit user TermperHoof has called upon the power of maths to detail why the game's latest patch -- update 1.03 -- has essentially broken the progression system on a fundamental level. It's one heck of a read. Obviously we're...
Great
Okay, did anyone actually test ANTHEM's stat-based inner workings before the game launched? The controversy for BioWare's looter shooter continues as players have once again found a clearly unintended way to boost their damage output. And yes, we did write 'again'. Just last week, we reported on the fact that you could get basic weapons to do...
News ANTHEM Players Boycott the Game As BioWare Once Again 'Fixes' Increased Loot Drops
Fun for all of five minutes
Is ANTHEM ever going to catch a break at this point? Honestly, probably not, and this latest controversy has certainly had an impact on the game's hardcore community. You may recall that around the title's launch last month, there was a "bug" that increased the frequency of rare loot drops. Players were completing endgame...
News ANTHEM PS4 Crashing Bug to Be Fixed with Next Week's Patch
Overpowered weapon bug also getting squashed
An issue was recently discovered within EA's troubled sci-fi shooter, ANTHEM. Many players have reported a bug in the game that causes their PlayStation 4 to crash, and in some cases, break altogether. BioWare has been working with Sony to resolve the problem, and it sounds lik
Rumour ANTHEM Players Discover Starter Weapons Stronger Than High-End Gear
What on earth is going on?
A new day brings with it yet another issue with ANTHEM, and today's takes the form of players over on Reddit discovering that the weapons you obtain at the very beginning of the game deal more damage than Masterwork guns once you reach the endgame. We haven't had chance to test this in-game ourselves and without any word...
News BioWare 'Working Closely' with Sony to Fix ANTHEM's Unacceptable PS4 Shutdown Crashes
Crash and burn
This ANTHEM story has blown up over the last few days, and it doesn't show any signs of slowing down. In case you missed the news, ANTHEM currently has an issue on PS4 where the game can suddenly crash, and we're not talking about it just booting you back to the system menu -- we're talking full-on shutdowns that can do permanent...
News BioWare Is Aware of ANTHEM's PS4 Crashing and Console Bricking Issues
Can it do anything right?
ANTHEM just can't catch a break, can it? If it's not causing players to demand refunds or going down for emergency maintenance, it's now crashing and/or completely bricking PS4 consoles. As previously reported, Sony has issued refunds to a number of people after ANTHEM caused their system to shut off completely, and a...
News Sony Awarding ANTHEM Refunds Due to Crashing Issues
But not everyone's singing from the same hymn sheet
Sony doesn’t have a refund policy on the PlayStation Store, but it is possible to get your money back in extreme circumstances. Reddit is reporting that the platform holder is reimbursing some ANTHEM purchases, as the game continues to stumble despite the release of various patches since launch...
News ANTHEM Servers Down for 'Emergency Maintenance'
Hang tight
ANTHEM's been running pretty smoothly since it launched last week on PS4. Barring the odd disconnect, there have been no major server outages as far as we're aware -- until now, that is. According to the game's official Twitter account, all servers are currently down for "emergency maintenance". Sounds rough, doesn't it? The timing's...
Poll One Week Later, Were the Reviews Right About ANTHEM?
How are you finding it?
ANTHEM currently sits at around a score of 60 on Metacritic across PS4, Xbox One, and PC. It's safe to say that the game's struggled, and for what was supposed to be a AAA Destiny-killer, you could argue that ANTHEM has been nothing short of a disaster for EA and BioWare. The game could well improve over time -- the developer...
February2019
News Changes to ANTHEM's Awful Loot System are Incoming
It's a start
An incoming ANTHEM patch is set to make meaningful adjustments to the game's frankly awful loot system. Overall, these changes should make grinding for good gear less tedious. The update, set to go live later today (that's the 28th February, for those reading this down the line), will apparently remove common and uncommon loot drops if...
News ANTHEM Down to £35 in the UK Just Days After Launch
Weekend's over
Despite topping the latest charts, ANTHEM has struggled at retail in the UK. Its initial figures are below even Mass Effect: Andromeda's -- a game that was deemed something of a flop in its time. And now, as if to add insult to injury, Amazon UK has ANTHEM in stock for just £35 on PS4. <products id="9721" style="list"> Seeing...
News First ANTHEM Sales Info Suggests Retail Struggle in the UK
Out of tune
ANTHEM hasn't done too hot in the UK, according to initial sales info from industry analyst Daniel Ahmad, also known as ZhugeEX. We'll have more details soon, once the full UK charts are available, but right now, it doesn't sound good as far as BioWare's latest is concerned. According to Ahmad, ANTHEM only managed to sell around ten...
Soapbox ANTHEM's Load Screens are Killing the Game for Me
Time waster
ANTHEM's load screens shouldn't be allowed. It's as simple as that. You get to a point where it starts to feel like you're spending more time look at load screens than you are actually playing the game, and it's beyond frustrating. I've had ANTHEM on PS4 for a couple of days, and it's been a bit of a middling experience so far. After a...
News ANTHEM's 1.03 Update Promises Fixes and Stability
So they claim
It's safe to say that ANTHEM is running much better than it did during its VIP demo and open beta phases, but the final product still isn't quite up to snuff. To combat that, update 1.03 has just been released on PlayStation 4 and it promises to provide general fixes and improve stability across the experience. Weighing in at just...
News ANTHEM Explains Ways It Will Attempt to Prevent Players from Absconding to The Division 2
BioWare releases roadmap for release
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: ANTHEM isn’t great. It’s not horrendous or anything, it’s just a bitter disappointment when you consider that it’s been in development for eternity at top-tier studio, BioWare. Perhaps worryingly for publisher EA, this was billed as one of its big bets – it’s...
Guide ANTHEM Crafting Guide - All Vendor Materials & Prices
Stocking up
If you're low on resources when it comes to crafting materials in ANTHEM, you're going to want to go to the Regulator Store in Fort Tarsis to stock up on supplies. Here are all the vendor materials you'll find and how much Coin it'll cost you. All Crafting Vendor Materials & Prices in ANTHEM: Material Use Price Uncommon...
Guide ANTHEM - When Are the Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Resets?
The live side of things
As with any live game, the experience of ANTHEM updates itself on a daily basis. Vendors get a new range of stock for example, while quests may reset themselves in order for you to earn their rewards again. These are the times when you can expect ANTHEM to perform its daily, weekly, and monthly resets. When Are the Daily,...
