EA to Shut Down Anthem Forever on January 12, 2026

The curtain is officially closing on BioWare’s online co-op action title Anthem. EA has confirmed that the game’s servers will be permanently shut down on January 12, 2026, bringing Anthem’s troubled journey to a definitive end. Designed as an online-only experience, the shutdown will render the game completely unplayable.

The End of Anthem

• Game: Anthem
• Developer: BioWare
• Publisher: Electronic Arts
• Shutdown Date: January 12, 2026

Once the servers go offline, Anthem will cease to exist as a playable game, even for solo players. With no offline mode ever implemented, the shutdown marks a total loss for the title.

A Cautionary Tale for Game Preservation 📉

Anthem’s closure once again highlights growing concerns around game preservation, especially for online-only titles. The issue gained major traction in 2024 with the Stop Killing Games movement, which emerged after Ubisoft delisted The Crew. That campaign attracted widespread attention, including support from European Parliament Vice President Nicolae Ștefănuță.

• Despite a fan-led petition in 2025 attempting to save Anthem
• Despite years of community feedback and calls for an offline mode

The shutdown is moving forward, reinforcing fears that many modern games may be lost forever once servers are turned off.

From Ambition to Disappointment 🎮

Anthem was meant to be BioWare’s next big leap — a brand-new IP following legendary franchises like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

Key features included:

• Javelin flight suits with customizable builds
• Fast-paced aerial combat
• A shared open world designed for co-op play

However, the game launched to mixed reception. While its flight mechanics and combat were widely praised, Anthem struggled with:

• Technical issues
• Repetitive mission design
• A shallow and underdeveloped endgame

These problems left many players feeling the experience was unfinished.

The Failed Reboot Attempt 🔄

Post-launch support initially promised improvements and seasonal content, but those plans were abandoned within months. EA later attempted to reboot the project internally, placing Christian Dailey and a small team at BioWare Austin in charge.

• Development continued quietly for less than a year
• EA ultimately canceled the reboot
• Servers were promised to remain active “for the foreseeable future”

That promise ended on July 3, 2025, when EA officially announced the January 12, 2026 shutdown date.

What Comes Next?

With only days left, fans have a final window to experience Anthem. An offline mode — long requested by the community — appears extremely unlikely. Whether EA will ever revisit the Anthem IP remains unknown, though many hope the company will someday reuse the highly praised Javelin flight system in a future project.

For now, January 12, 2026, stands as a sobering reminder of the risks tied to online-only games — and why the conversation around preservation isn’t going away anytime soon.