EA Could Be About To Put Anthem Out Of Its Misery
EA are no strangers to the term "it's not over until the fat lady sings", with the phrase being a popular line for commentator Martin Tyler in their title FIFA. However, straying away from their major success story, the publishers are set to decide the fate of their online multiplayer shooter Anthem, and the fat lady's lungs are almost bursting.
Having not even hit its second birthday, EA could shut the game down after critics have torn it apart and the financial income appears unsalvageable.
Anthem was developed by BioWare (also creators of Mass Effect, the Dragon Age series, and Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes) and released to the public on February 22, 2019, although it was very reminiscent of other titles such as Destiny and Mass Effect. With gameplay boasting "Freelancers", the emphasis on sci-fi futuristic combat with a range of exo-suit capabilities struggled to stand out from the crowd and seldom received plaudits.
BioWare recently revealed that the game will be reworked as either Anthem 2.0 or Anthem Next, with the promise of better loot, more distinguishable and unique Javelin builds, and even a rumour of pirates being added.
However, their efforts to resurrect the game could be thwarted by EA who will decide its fate in the near future.
Click to enlargeAccording to reports from Bloomberg, EA and BioWare representatives will be meeting to decide whether to expand the team in hope of turning the game around, or whether to pull the plug on the title completely and shut it down.
With declining numbers in players and a less-than-expected revenue from purchases and microtransactions, BioWare will need to pull out all the stops to see Anthem breathe some second wind. Just a mere two weeks after 2K Games' Battleborn was officially closed down, another gigantic developer could be diminishing their games.
The meeting is set to take place this week, with BioWare hoping they'll be on key and the song isn't cut off by a buzzer before the main vocal.
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