EA to End Anthem Services in January 2026

EA has confirmed that BioWare's Anthem will cease operations on January 12, 2026.

As Anthem relies entirely on online functionality, the game will become unplayable after this date.

Sales of premium in-game currency will halt today, July 3, but players can use existing balances until the shutdown. Anthem will exit EA Play on August 15, 2025, though it will remain downloadable for those with it in their library until the final closure.

Launched in February 2019, Anthem received mixed reviews, with our 6.5/10 rating highlighting its repetitive gameplay, lack of polish, and disjointed narrative. By December 2023, it had sold 5 million copies, missing EA’s goal of 6 million in its initial months. Despite post-launch updates, EA halted active development in February 2021, and the game’s director left the following month.

In an FAQ, EA clarified that Anthem’s closure will not lead to layoffs, a relief amid recent staff reductions that have shaken the company.

In May, EA closed Cliffhanger Games, canceling its Black Panther project and laying off an unspecified number of employees. That same month, EA enforced a mandatory return-to-office policy for all staff.

The previous month, EA cut approximately 300 jobs, and earlier in 2025, it restructured BioWare, reassigning some Anthem developers to other projects while laying off others. In 2024, EA’s major restructuring led to 670 layoffs across the company, and in 2023, BioWare lost 50 employees, with additional cuts at Codemasters.

BioWare is now concentrating fully on Mass Effect 5 following the commercial underperformance of Dragon Age: The Veilguard.