Opinion | Coloured Static Press
It had everything I love about gaming. Its potential seemed endless. Yet Anthem became my biggest gaming disappointment, not because its ambition was misplaced, but because the execution was fatally flawed.
A promise worth believing in
Some games disappoint because they never appeal to you in the first place. Anthem was different. From its first reveal, BioWare appeared to be building almost exactly the kind of science-fiction adventure I wanted to inhabit: a mysterious world, spectacular powered armour, freedom of movement and the promise of tackling danger together.
That sense of possibility mattered. The Javelins weren’t just interchangeable outfits. Ranger, Colossus, Storm and Interceptor suggested different approaches to combat and different ways to feel powerful. Flying across the landscape was the kind of mechanic that could make the journey itself a reward. Anthem had the raw ingredients for a remarkable shared-world experience.
When potential is not enough
But potential isn’t a substitute for a finished, rewarding game. Anthem never delivered on what I believed it could become. Its compelling movement and combat existed alongside an experience that struggled to sustain its own ambitions. Repetition, progression frustrations and an unconvincing long-term structure made the distance between the dream and the reality impossible to ignore.
I’ve described Anthem before, during a gaming podcast discussion, as my biggest gaming disappointment. I stand by that assessment. This wasn’t simply anger at a poor purchase. It was frustration at seeing something with so many elements I loved fail to come together.
The second chance that never came
BioWare recognised the need for deeper change. The proposed overhaul, commonly called Anthem NEXT, offered the possibility of rebuilding the game’s foundations. But in February 2021 BioWare announced that development on the overhaul had stopped. The live game continued, but the hoped-for reinvention was over.
Then came the finality of January 2026. EA confirmed that Anthem’s servers would close on 12 January. Because Anthem was designed as an online-only title, that shutdown meant players could no longer play it at all. An imperfect game became an inaccessible one.
Why fans are still fighting
Now a fresh petition calling for Anthem’s return is gathering signatures. Its organisers are asking EA to consider restored servers, an offline edition or a community-supported alternative. The campaign is a measure of lingering affection, not evidence that an official revival is under way.
Elsewhere, preservation-minded developers associated with The Fort’s Forge have investigated whether parts of Anthem’s server infrastructure can be recreated. Early proof-of-concept work offered a glimmer of possibility, but the technical obstacles, particularly around Frostbite’s multiplayer architecture, are substantial. Nobody should confuse an experimental demonstration with a playable resurrection.
Would bringing Anthem back be enough?
Here is the uncomfortable question: if Anthem returned tomorrow exactly as it was, would that be the victory its supporters imagine? Preservation alone has value. People who bought a game should not have to accept that its world disappears forever without serious questions being asked. But restoring access would not magically repair the design shortcomings that made Anthem such a painful missed opportunity.
The dream of Anthem deserves remembering. So do the reasons it fell short. Any meaningful second chance would need to respect both.
The greatest game that never was
I don’t want to rewrite history and pretend Anthem was secretly a masterpiece. It wasn’t. The execution was fatally flawed. But the world, the flight, the Javelins and the tantalising promise of what BioWare might have built remain difficult to forget.
That is why the petition resonates. Some games are remembered for everything they achieved. Anthem is remembered, at least by me, for everything it could have achieved.
Anthem was my biggest gaming disappointment because it had everything I loved about games. I still wish it had become the game it promised to be.
Further reading: EA’s shutdown announcement · BioWare’s Anthem NEXT update · The October 2026 revival petition · Technical reporting on the fan preservation project.