ANTHEM only launched a couple of months ago but it already feels like the game has completely fallen off a cliff. BioWare's looter shooter failed to find any kind of momentum post-launch, partly because it was hit with a recurring barrage of bad press. The title no longer makes it onto the top 40 of the UK charts, and it barely scrapes a few hundred viewers at any one time on streaming website Twitch. Obviously these metrics aren't concrete indicators of a game's success, but there's no smoke without fire.
Being an online-only release, ANTHEM lives and dies by its active playerbase, and going by an in-depth survey that Reddit user SyntaxTheGr8 put together, it's not looking especially healthy right now.
The survey pooled responses from over 1000 Reddit users, and the results are rather damning. 98.4% of people said they'd played ANTHEM for over an hour, but 53% say they've quit the game completely. What's more, a further 28% say they're either quitting soon, or they're at least considering quitting. And remember, this survey is based a hardcore ANTHEM community -- if they're not into ANTHEM at this point, then it's very likely that less committed players will be.
The troubling survey results don't stop there, however. When asked about the future of ANTHEM, a whopping 79% said it's "concerning", "not looking good at all", or "horrible". You can see all of the survey results through here.
It's difficult to say what the future holds for ANTHEM. We've said this before, but realistically, it's going to take nothing short of a miracle from BioWare to set the game straight. Whether the developer will be given the time or the resources to do so, however, remains to be seen.
[source reddit.com, via imgur.com, gamesradar.com]
Comments 45
I'm at a certain age where whenever I hear "survey" I think of Les Dennis.
I haven't touched anthem since division 2 dropped. And if the small company can get world war z servers and connectivity together... I'll never think about anthem again.
Not to mention there's the whole BioWare putting job listings up for: a system designer for item creation, a second system designer but for combat balance, another system designer but this time for store management and reward pipeline, and last of all a senior system designer for the loot systems
... doesn't sound too good at all
This whole game is a complete joke and I don't understand why they're bothering making a Dragon age 4 with the Anthem framework if it's just gonna be another absolute farce like this has been
I wouldn't touch Anthem with a hundred foot bargepole and I certainly wouldn't touch DA4 with it either despite actually enjoying Inquisition over DA 1 & 2
I honestly don't think this particular game can recover from its launch. I know Destiny 1 did but it already seems too late for Anthem 2 months in. There's a lot of brokenness in the core of the game that I don't think can be solved with just a patch or 2. I logged in a couple days ago after about a month and got disconnected from the servers after like 20 minutes from starting (of which probably 5 were in loading screens). I mean it's already down to $20 on some online stores. They should honestly just lick their wounds, delicate a portion of folks to continue fixing problems and move on to the next thing as bad as that sounds.
@redd214 I think you're pretty much spot on, unfortunately.
@ShogunRok yeah it is unfortunate as there are little glimpses here and there of a great game but their few and far between. If they fix their broken trophies I may go back and get the final 2 I need for the platinum, but outside of that I doubt I will ever go back much. Shame really. They should just finally release the ME trilogy remaster and garner a bit of good will
Sad news, especially with the reports of burn out and stress related issues in its last minute development cycle. LIve services are a double edged sword and there is a lot of competition.
@RogerRoger I can imagine, I have the Captain Scarlet scene transition sound which I think is cooler
They should release some kind of Dragon Age/Anthem cross over, I reckon that's what people want.
I smell a ps+ freebie in this game's future. Which rocks, because I'd never pay for it but flying around in the mechs looks like it'd be fun for a couple of hours.
I have only sympathy of the development team of ANTHEM.
They dedicated a lot of time, energy and creativity into making this game and it has all collapsed before them.
Yes, it is EA, and this game was rushed and had bad design choices. But it is still tough to be part of a project for years that fails.
I only wish the best for BioWare. May they return to winning ways soon.
@redd214 I still think it's baffling that we haven't seen the Mass Effect Trilogy get remastered. Literally leaving money on the table.
@AdamNovice
Les Dennis: We asked 100 people to complete the sentence, “ANTHEM is a Game as a...?”
You said “Service”.
eh urr
The top answer was “Circus”.
@ShogunRok absolutely! I would buy it in a heartbeat. Can't think of a single logical reason not to, especially with all the dumping on Bioware last couple years. I know EA loves money and seems like a guaranteed cash infusion to me!
@ShogunRok yeah, I'm actually kind of mad at this point that they are just leaving those games stranded on last gen.
I'm only really sad because Dragon Age 4 will probably tank because this game is currently tanking. Then again, with whatever this version of BioWare is, I don't think they should touch Dragon Age.
"BioWare's looter shooter failed to find any kind of momentum post-launch, partly because it was hit with a recurring barrage of bad press."
REALLY?! That is an absolute misrepresentation of the situation. The game failed to find momentum because it is GARBAGE. No other reason.
@ShogunRok
Perhaps they're saving the mass effect trilogy for a FF7 style remake?
Except BioWare doesn't want to admit that it's the best it can do? Or realise it's the only card they've really got left to play at the moment...
@Dubya75 Well, yeah, the bad press was (and is) because the game's a bit crap. Don't think anyone's disputing that.
@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy It does feel like stubbornness on some level. You get the impression that BioWare likes to think that it's always moving forward, despite its output gradually getting worse with each new release (for the most part).
@ShogunRok
I still play it but far less than I used to.
Bioware most certainly knew what they were letting loose when the game was released. After all, they were the people behind ME and DA - FFS.
Despite this, their willingness to come out and engage with gamers was a brave (foolhardy? naive? ignorant? smug? arrogant?) thing to do.
Like people say, the game is currently a S**tshow of a circus laced with infuriating breaks, but has within it the framework for a terrific game.
I really hope the game pulls through and becomes what we were promised.
And lets be honest, people aren't troubled by this - they are absolutely loving it.
Seems like many people are satisfied with The Division 2 for their looter shooter fix and have moved on from Anthem.
@Kienda Lol awesome
The game was released in an abysimal state and far from being a complete game.
The Division 2 put a Tombstone on it.
@AdamNovice goddamn, we're old...
I am playing a bit here and there... not too far from that platinum. Like Mass Effect Andromeda before it, combat can be a lot of fun, but everything else either doesn't work well or is broken. The only thing really preventing me from getting the platinum is the broken drop system. I am playing on the Grandmaster difficulties, and keep getting the same stuff. If I do manage to get a masterclass or legendary drop, it is for a component I already have in that rarity.
@kyleforrester87 Especially you Kyle.
It's garbage, anyone defending the game is misinformed or delusional.
@ShogunRok - given with how badly bioware has struggled with frostbite thus far, would you really trust a ME trilogy remastered to turn out very well?
I was too busy with Apex Legends when Anthem came out. BTW, whatever happened to that game? In the end it proved to be nothing more than a fad that also died out
Don't know for every one else but, personnally, I sold my copy and bought instead The Division 2.
One of the best decisions of my life.
@leucocyte Well I was thinking a remaster rather than a remake — no Frostbite required. Just re-release them at a higher res and a better frame rate. I'm sure most fans would be fine with that.
@Shepherd_Tallon Yeah it sounds like Dragon Age 4 is way off. Impossible to say at this point what kind of game it'll be (or indeed if it ever comes out).
Hmmmm. 53% of them said they have quit completely yet still hang out there on the forum??? Why?
But I think you have it backwards on the thought of if hardcore players are not into the game then less committed won't be either. Its the hardcore that see the flaws more than the casuals do. It's the casuals that will keep buying it.
As for how to save it... F2P.
I’d be more interested in Anthumb, a tiny adventure about traveling insect and his big thumb, who’s doing everything he can to grab any driver’s attention and hitch a ride.
No, it’s not a real game, but the storyline makes more sense.
@AdamNovice your lucky I think of Bob monkhouse
You were meant to be the chosen one Bioware.
@ShogunRok - even to remaster the ME trilogy, it would need a change of engine. unreal 3 would really show its age at this point, and likely doesn't have any of the enhancements for streaming high-quality assets etc. unreal 4 would be the obvious choice, but EA seems to be hellbent on getting their studios to use frostbite (though respawn have licensed UE4 for the star wars game).
@leucocyte To be fair, the trilogy's gonna show its age anyway (especially the first two games), unless it's a remake rather than a remaster. So going back to your original point, yeah, you're right, I don't think I'd trust BioWare to remake the trilogy at this point in time.
@redd214 Destiny 1 had everything it needed in the game assets, and the core gameplay loop even at launch wasn't even comparable to the content wasteland that is Anthem, you have 3/4 things to do and you repeat those 3/4 things until your eyes bleed.
Destiny 2 at launch is probably a better example perhaps, but on a complete opposite scale - the loot was plenty but it was absolutely meaningless, once you had it once you're done, armor drops even worse, they had no intrinsic difference other than their type, and the only type people cared for was Recovery, which you can have from a mid game tier vendor and you're set - just infuse everything else you get into it until you reach max level.
Even with this comparison, Anthem simply does not have it under the hood. The game is barren from the get go, the enemies are boring, the loot scales making the grind pointless, there's not enough endgame content and the little that there is is not rewarding at all, it is missing the necessary structure to build around in order to get to some sort of good state.
Anthem was dead on arrival, and it was clear to see since the alphas and betas, if it wasn't obvious by the time it actually released fully then I don't know what else to say to people...
@Its_badW0lf yeah I was there for the launch of all 3 so I have a good idea of how they all compare.
@Gumbopudding I played the game for a total of 10 hours between alphas and betas and pot patch release on a friend's copy after I decided to cancel the pre-order when the dumpster fire became apparent, I still go to the anthem forums from time to time, it is so profoundly sad to see them going through the different stages of grief that it makes it gold comedic standard.
@Bad-MuthaAdebisi why not both?
@ShogunRok If they remaster ME like they did Burnout Paradise, they needn't bother.
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