Too little too late? Anthem joins EA Access today

Don’t cry for me…

While much of the video-game-playing world has moved on, Anthem is still up and running. Last month brought the Cataclysm event, and now, as of today, BioWare’s high-flying sci-fi shooter has joined EA Access and Origin Access. I can see people messing with it out of a sense of morbid curiosity.

With Anthem now in The Vault, it’s fully available to play at no extra cost. Basic subscribers are getting the no-frills Standard Edition of the game, but Origin Access Premier members have access to the Legion of Dawn Edition (in other words: extra armor for each class and the digital soundtrack).

Covering this game this far into 2019 feels like talking about a ghost. It’s weird, especially in the context of a BioWare title with major backing (at least upfront). Things could’ve gone better post-launch.

“IP lives for generations, and runs in these seven to ten-year cycles,” EA CEO Andrew Wilson said earlier this year. “So, if I think about Anthem on a seven- to ten-year cycle, it may not have had the start that many of us wanted, including our players. I feel like that team is really going to get there with something special and something great, because they’ve demonstrated that they can.”

It’s good to see Anthem on EA Access for anyone who wants to experience the highs and lows of a BioWare live-service game, but I’m not hopeful about the IP’s future, and I fear for Dragon Age fans.

[EA]