Time flies (like a Javelin suit): there are only 10 days left to play BioWare's ill-fated multiplayer game Anthem before the servers are switched off, presumably forever.
The end of this week spells the final gasp for BioWare's Anthem. I suspect most people won't think too much about it - that's why, almost seven years after it first launched and five since EA pulled the plug on development, the Anthem servers are due to be shut off on Monday January 12. But I can't help feeling a real pang of sadness; Anthem as it launched wasn't the game it needed to be, and ultimately it never got there. But for me, it was so close that I could taste it - and now all that's left are the bitter memories of my favorite mech RPG that never quite was.
It’s almost time to say goodbye to a divisive BioWare PS4 action RPG (playable on PS5) as it prepares to shut down for good. Frankly, we’re surprised that Anthem stayed live for seven years despite its development being canceled five years ago, but here we are.
PS4, PS5 users can play doomed BioWare RPG Anthem until January 12, 2026
PS5 and PS4 players are reminded that they have until Monday, January 12, 2026 to enjoy Anthem and/or mop up those trophies. PlayStation LifeStyle’s own Tyler Treese managed to pop the Platinum trophy just in time. Don’t miss out on your final opportunity this weekend to earn that rare Platinum!
Anthem was a departure for BioWare that ultimately led the studio down a dark path, but much of the blame for this live service disaster fell on publisher Electronic Arts. The company infamously decided that games-as-a-service was the way to go, and gutted single-player projects along the way.
Anthem was a critical and commercial failure, and at one point, the game’s discs were being sold for pennies. For its part, EA acknowledged the misfire, but not before Anthem’s troubles took their toll on BioWare.
Did our readers play Anthem? Share your thoughts on the game with us below.
No time for love, Doctor Jones, but there’s always time to plunder a newly discovered ancient tomb in Star Wars: The Old Republic! We begin our One Shots column today wheezing and coughing at all of the dust that Lucky Jinx kicked up in the latest pursuit of some Sith Artifact or maybe a Hello […]
It’s never the kind of stream we like to do at OPTV, but as part of our coverage of the highs and the lows of our genre, MOP’s Chris will be live this afternoon for part of the final weekend of Anthem before it goes offline for good. Join him today at 2:00 p.m. EST […]
Sony is closing out the year with its End of Year Deals PlayStation Store sale, which lets players save up to 75% on some of the best PS4 and PS5 games available on the digital storefront. That includes this BioWare RPG that was critically acclaimed when it was originally released in 2014.
Dragon Age: Inquisition is 85% off on the PS Store
Developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts, Dragon Age: Inquisition – Game of the Year Edition is currently 85% off on the PS Store. That brings its normal price of $39.99 down to just $5.99. PS4 and PS5 players who want to take advantage of this deal will want to act fast. The offer ends on December 23 at 2:59 a.m. ET.
Here’s a description of the game, as well as a trailer, giving players a glimpse of what to expect:
“When the sky opens up and rains down chaos, the world needs heroes. Become the savior of Thedas in Dragon Age: Inquisition – Game of the Year Edition. You are the Inquisitor, tasked with saving the world from itself. But the road ahead is paved with difficult decisions. Thedas is a land of strife. Factions constantly war with each other even as a larger demonic invasion has begun. And you? You and your band of champions are the only ones who can hold it together. It’s your job to lead them…or fall.”
When Dragon Age: Inquisition was originally released in 2014, it was received well. According to the review aggregate site Metacritic, it garnered an average score of 85 across 45 critic reviews. In our review, we gave it a 9 out of 10.
“The beautiful graphics grabbed me, the detailed characters reeled me in, and the open areas and numerous quests made me fall in love with the game,” reads our review. “Overall, I spent around 55 hours on the game, and while I only recently finished the main storyline, I still have many more side quests that I can play. If you’re an RPG fan, you owe it to yourself to play Inquisition, and somehow, I don’t think you’ll regret it.”
At the tail end of 2024 the original PlayStation turned 30 years old. While the Xbox 360 is only hitting 20 and it's not an industry shaker to the degree the PS1 was, there's no doubt it earned its place as one of the most important consoles of all time. Xbox managed to challenge Sony in the traditional home console space the PlayStation had dominated with PS1 and PS2, and the console's brilliant line-up of games played a major role in that.
N7 Day is here, and we have pretty much no Mass Effect news. Instead, the N7 Day blog post from BioWare pretty much just confirms that Mass Effect 5 still exists and is the studio's sole focus, while also giving us some news about the TV show that will come as a relief to many. Oh, and there might be a secret message thrown in there, because of course there is.
The next entry in the Mass Effect series continues to be in development, BioWare confirmed today during the annual series' celebrations. In a new blog post shared on the developer's official website for N7 Day 2025, Executive Producer Mike Gamble provided a brief update on the game, confirming that it continues to be in development, as EA and BioWare remain committed to telling more stories in the series' universe. Following some busy years at the studio, BioWare is now fully dedicated to the development of the next entry in the Mass Effect series, and is continuing to explore new features […]
Amazon's upcoming Mass Effect show will not bring Commander Shepard and the crew to live-action, as it will be an original story set after Mass Effect 3.
Today is N7 Day, an annual “holiday” that celebrates the beloved BioWare RPG series, Mass Effect. One way Electronic Arts is celebrating is by bringing free DLC based on the game to the recently released open-world skateboarding game, Skate.
Skate gets more free DLC to celebrate N7 Day
Players who hop into Skate between now and November 11 before the shop refresh can claim a slew of Mass Effect-themed items for free. As seen in the video below, courtesy of @skatedailyshop on X (formerly Twitter), here are all the items available in the free N7 DLC for Skate:
To redeem these items, players just have to visit the shop page, click on the items they want in the N7 Day section, and claim them. Again, these are free and do not require any in-game or premium currency to grab the items.
Happy #N7Day, from all of us at skate. Hop into San Vansterdam to claim your free N7 gear before it’s gone on November 11th 9am PT. Be sure to tag us in any out of this world clips you get with your new gear! pic.twitter.com/sv94XuidIM
Beyond the free Mass Effect crossover items for Skate and Apex Legends, the N7 Day announcements are a bit underwhelming. In BioWare’s official blog post, Mass Effect executive producer Mike Gamble gave brief updates about the next game in the beloved series, as well as a TV series.
“But currently, the team is heads-down and focused exclusively on Mass Effect,” says Gamble. “We have a lot of universe to cover, lots of features to build, and lots of romances to figure out. We’re excited by what we’re building, and we promise you: when we’re ready, it’ll be a lot of fun to show.”
“Beyond the next game, there’s more to get excited about. I haven’t talked about it much, but you might have heard a little something about a TV series,” continues Gamble. “We’ve been partnering closely with Amazon on it, and we’re really excited with what the talented team over there is coming up with.”
While November 7th isn’t as well-known a geek holiday as May 4th, Mass Effect fans know it as N7 Day — a reference to the series’ iconic Normandy spaceship. To celebrate this, No Man’s Sky once again collaborated with EA BioWare to bring back the Normandy as part of a remixed expedition. “The inhabitants of […]
It’s easy to forget that today is N7 Day, especially with all the delays happening in the industry. Nevertheless, Mass Effect executive producer Mike Gamble returned to set “the record straight,” and reiterate that the next Mass Effect is indeed still in development. “EA and BioWare remain committed to telling more stories in this universe,” likely referring to reports about developers being worried about the studio’s future.
Noting that the last few years were an “incredibly busy time at BioWare” (which released Dragon Age: The Veilguard last year), Gamble said the team is currently “heads-down and focused exclusively on Mass Effect. We have a lot of universe to cover, lots of features to build, and lots of romances to figure out.
“We’re excited by what we’re building, and we promise you: when we’re ready, it’ll be a lot of fun to show. Until then, thank you for your patience because y’all are thirsty for news and I see you looking for secret meaning in my tweets (okay, sometimes they have secret meaning).”
He also talked about the upcoming TV series which it’s partnering with Amazon on. Gamble says the writers’ room has “a lot figured out” about its place in the overall canon, especially “where it sits in respect to the new game.” However, don’t expect it to focus on Commander Shepard – it’s a “brand-new story” taking place after the original trilogy in the same timeline.
Gamble signed off with the disclaimer that there’s “no secret game information to be gleaned by anything I’m saying today, I promise.” What an odd thing to say.