Anthem servers are being taken offline today, meaning you cannot play anymore at all. Here's a look back and how we got here.

The failure of Anthem was one of the biggest events of the last decade, and, back in July 2025, EA had confirmed that it would be pulling the plug on the mech-based multiplayer looter shooter’s servers today. With the end of the game now upon us, fans rallied back to the game for one final time before it became completely unplayable to say goodbye to the game. Many of these fans took to social media to discuss the potential it had as one of many games that were trying to take Destiny’s crown at the time.

“Goodbye Anthem. You had so much potential, such a waste,” wrote one player. “As one of the most notorious ‘Destiny killers’, its shutdown is a good reminder that keeping a looter shooter alive and well for years is a nearly impossible task.”

“Last night I logged into Anthem for the last time. Toured the map one last time, did some missions. Had some fun,” wrote another. “People can feel how they want, but the potential this game had was undeniable. The flying was spectacular.”

“A game that could have been great,” wrote BlueSky user Dominic Tarason. “The feel of moving around, flying and shooting? Top notch. Better than any official Iron Man game. I want sci-fi super-suits to feel like this everywhere. But the mission design was a mess. Levels were designed like they were for a regular ground-based FPS.”

The fact that “potential” is a running theme in many of these posts should come as no surprise. Even back when Anthem first launched on PC, PS4 and Xbox One, common consensus was that the flying mechanics served as excellent foundations on which the rest of the game could then be built. However, a severe lack of content, and other game design decisions ended up hampering a lot of players’ enjoyment of the game.

Even in our own review, we noted that Anthem often tends to have excellent gameplay that is often brought down thanks to un-fun mission design. For example, the story is brought to a dramatic halt after players are tasked with unlocking some old tombs. However, the process to unlock these tombs was considered an arduous waste of time, with our review referring to them as “arbitrary tasks” like killing a certain number of enemies with specific attacks or reviving squad mates. We ultimately gave Anthem a score of 5 out of 10, noting that, while the gunplay, flying, story and world were great, poor mission design and a lack of enemy variety were only part of its problems.

Taking a cue from long-running live service games, BioWare and EA had announced back in February 2020 that a revamp of Anthem was under development. The revamp would focus on improving stability and performance, along with new content and features. However, this revamp would never see the light of day, with the project getting cancelled just a year later in February 2021. In a statement, BioWare Austin head Christian Dailey spoke about the unique events of 2020, including the worldwide pandemic, and noted that the studio had suffered a major impact in its productivity.

For more details on Anthem‘s rise and fall, check out the full story.

A game that could have been great.The feel of moving around, flying and shooting? Top notch. Better than any official Iron Man game. I want sci-fi super-suits to feel like this everywhere.But the mission design was a mess. Levels were designed like they were for a regular ground-based FPS.

— Dominic Tarason (@dominictarason.com) 2026-01-12T11:08:07.430Z

Last night I logged into Anthem for the last time. Toured the map one last time, did some missions. Had some fun.

People can feel how they want, but the potential this game had was undeniable. The flying was spectacular.

Goodbye, #Anthem pic.twitter.com/ooqEkRuHzn

— AllOut Gamer (@AllOutGamerYT) January 12, 2026

Goodbye Anthem. You had so much potential, such a waste…

As one of the most notorious "Destiny killers", its shutdown is a good reminder that keeping a looter shooter alive and well for years is a nearly impossible task. pic.twitter.com/dD1vhYSvr1

— BlueberriesGG (@blueberriesGG) January 12, 2026

January 13th and Hytale’s early access launch is almost here, and the stress levels are undoubtedly high over at Hypixel Studios. And speaking of stress — great segue alert! — the studio is asking fans to help crunch the server prior to the launch. “To stress test our back end systems and get ready for […]

If you are anything like me, you believe that “more is better” always applies to Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks: I want more pages, more content, more maps, more stat blocks, etc. The thicker the book, the happier I am when I bring it out of the store. (Support local commerce!) However, the recent trend seems to be going in the opposite direction: just take a look at Forge of the Artificer.

As we get closer to the March 19 release date for open-world action RPG Crimson Desert, developer Pearl Abyss has revealed some details about the game, including the fact that boss fights will play an important role in how its combat system has been designed. In an interview with GamesRadar, a spokesperson for the studio spoke about how important boss fights are to the game’s intensity, variety and sense of progression.

Bringing up the example of the Staglord, the studio spoke about how it will focus on precise timing and movements to avoid its powerful attacks. Its sheer size will also force players to switch up their tactics, since grapple-styled moves simply won’t work. The Queen Stoneback Crab, on the other hand, will revolve around players making use of environmental cues to break through its solid defenses.

“Boss battles play a crucial role in shaping the game’s intensity, variety, and sense of progression,” explained the spokesperson. “For example, the Staglord, a towering stag-like boss, is so massive that grapples and wrestling-inspired moves are completely ineffective, forcing players to rely on precise timing and movement to avoid its powerful charges and wide-range attacks.”

“In contrast, the Queen Stoneback Crab requires players to use specific mechanics and environmental cues to break through its defenses, showcasing how different bosses encourage different strategic approaches. These encounters aren’t isolated set pieces, they embody Crimson Desert’s core combat philosophy of reading patterns, adapting abilities and equipment, and leveraging the environment.”

This comes down to how much the combat design of MMORPG Black Desert Online influenced the gameplay in Crimson Desert. The spokesperson described the single-player RPG’s combat as taking on a “more cinematic and tactile form” when compared to the MMO. Crimson Desert will give players plenty of tools to deal with these epic bosses, from a wide variety of moves, to a number of weapons, and even moves inspired by professional wrestling.

“Black Desert’s combat legacy also influenced the game’s direction,” said the studio. “Its intuitive yet deep action system evolves in Crimson Desert into a more cinematic and tactile form, combining a wide moveset arsenal, elemental enhancements, weapons, wrestling-inspired moves, and timed dodges and parries that let players create their own distinctive combat style.”

In a developer interview during the New Game+ Showcase from last week, the studio also spoke about how massive the open world of Crimson Desert will be. Bringing up comparisons to other popular open-world games, Pearl Abyss’ marketing and strategic planning expert Will Powers said that the upcoming RPG will have a bigger world than even Red Dead Redemption 2. He then noted that it will be “at least” double the size of Skyrim from The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim.

Crimson Desert is coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. For more details, check out our thoughts on why it might be the year’s breakout title. Also check out some of the cool boss fights showcased in the gameplay trailer from back in October. In case you’re interested in picking up a copy of the game, also check out details about its physical release that is happening thanks to the studio’s partnership with PLAION.

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