People Are Working Unofficially to Bring Anthem Back From the Dead Following EA Shutdown

Anthem, the failed attempt at a live-service game by Mass Effect and Dragon Age developer BioWare, may be officially offline for good, but some people are keeping the dream alive. Anthem publisher EA announced last year that it would stop running the game's servers on January 12, 2026, and confirmed that users would no longer be able play at all after this point. Premium in-game currency was withdrawn from sale last summer, and the game was delisted at the same time from EA Play. As an online-only game, this meant the game was essentially dead, with no way to access any content offline. Now, however, developer And799 has showcased their efforts in a video, and while they are keen to stress that what you see is merely a proof of concept and does "NOT represent the current progress of the private server/revival project that is currently in progress," it certainly looks as though they've managed to get multiplayer running, albeit with some missing features such as online profiles. Crucially, they did manage to get two players into the same lobby. "So, with the game being dead, I think it's the perfect time to take a look at it," And799 said. "Seems like the majority of the player data are handled through BioWare's server instead of blaze and it is required for the game to be able to load offline." Interestingly, the comments of the video are full of people offering their expertise to help with the project, with one such commenter writing: "It hasn't been a week [since Anthem was taken offline], this is outstanding." Upon its 2019 release, shared-world action-RPG Anthem failed to meet EA's internal targets set after a long and troubled development. Despite some efforts to further update and improve the game, BioWare ceased active development on Anthem back in February 2021, citing a need to prioritize Dragon Age: The Veilguard and Mass Effect 5. The plug was pulled on January 12. While these fan efforts are encouraging, it remains to be seen whether they go anywhere meaningful. Redditor Next-Atmosphere9202, who is a part of the private server/revival project mentioned above, commented on And799's work to say "this is still a really hacky thing so I want to ask people to manage their expectations just a bit. A lot of stuff clearly doesn't work as 'intended,' and definitely needs at minimum, more polish." Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Jan 22, 2026 - 19:06

People Are Working Unofficially to Bring Anthem Back From the Dead Following EA Shutdown

Anthem, the failed attempt at a live-service game by Mass Effect and Dragon Age developer BioWare, may be officially offline for good, but some people are keeping the dream alive.

Anthem publisher EA announced last year that it would stop running the game's servers on January 12, 2026, and confirmed that users would no longer be able play at all after this point. Premium in-game currency was withdrawn from sale last summer, and the game was delisted at the same time from EA Play. As an online-only game, this meant the game was essentially dead, with no way to access any content offline.

Now, however, developer And799 has showcased their efforts in a video, and while they are keen to stress that what you see is merely a proof of concept and does "NOT represent the current progress of the private server/revival project that is currently in progress," it certainly looks as though they've managed to get multiplayer running, albeit with some missing features such as online profiles. Crucially, they did manage to get two players into the same lobby.

"So, with the game being dead, I think it's the perfect time to take a look at it," And799 said. "Seems like the majority of the player data are handled through BioWare's server instead of blaze and it is required for the game to be able to load offline."

Interestingly, the comments of the video are full of people offering their expertise to help with the project, with one such commenter writing: "It hasn't been a week [since Anthem was taken offline], this is outstanding."

Upon its 2019 release, shared-world action-RPG Anthem failed to meet EA's internal targets set after a long and troubled development. Despite some efforts to further update and improve the game, BioWare ceased active development on Anthem back in February 2021, citing a need to prioritize Dragon Age: The Veilguard and Mass Effect 5. The plug was pulled on January 12.

While these fan efforts are encouraging, it remains to be seen whether they go anywhere meaningful. Redditor Next-Atmosphere9202, who is a part of the private server/revival project mentioned above, commented on And799's work to say "this is still a really hacky thing so I want to ask people to manage their expectations just a bit. A lot of stuff clearly doesn't work as 'intended,' and definitely needs at minimum, more polish."

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

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