If you enjoyed playing BioWare’s sci-fi looter shooter and got disappointed that the official game servers have been closed, we’ve got some good news for you.
TL;DR
Anthem Is Offline — But Fans Are Trying to Bring It Back
Anthem officially went offline on January 12, but the story might not be completely over. Fans and developers are already exploring ways to keep the game playable through private servers.
- Anthem servers shut down: EA officially ended Anthem’s online service in January, making the game unplayable in its original form.
- The shutdown wasn’t a surprise: BioWare stopped major development in 2021, and EA confirmed the end of service in August 2025.
- Why Anthem failed: High development costs, live-service expenses, unclear vision, and overpromised features made it commercially unsustainable.
- Offline mode was possible: Former BioWare producer Mark Darrah revealed the game could have supported local or offline servers, but EA chose not to pursue it.
- Private server breakthrough: YouTuber And799 demonstrated Anthem running on a local server, with basic multiplayer via peer-to-peer networking.
- Still very limited: Some systems are broken, and the project is only a proof-of-concept — not a full revival.
- No official comeback: There is no confirmation that Anthem will ever return in a fully playable state.
Important tips: Treat private server news as experimental, not a guaranteed revival. Anthem’s future now depends entirely on fan-led preservation efforts, not EA or BioWare.
Anthem is Dead, but Fans Keep Fighting
Anthem’s servers have been shut down on January 12, ending a 6-year journey for everyone involved. It was never considered particularly good, especially among other live service games, which is backed by the reviews from both critics and players alike, yet it did have some strengths that made part of the gaming community fall in love with it.
And all that love and passion can be seen even more clearly now. The dust after pulling off the server cords hasn’t settled yet, and fans are already working hard, looking for ways to bring the game back. Unexpectedly, they’ve already made significant progress, as proven by a certain YouTuber.
Historical Context – A Game Fated to Die
The death of Anthem wasn’t exactly surprising news, as Electronic Arts’ BioWare had already stated back in 2021 that the game would not be receiving any content updates anymore.
The company has promised to keep the servers running for the foreseeable future to let players have their fun, but it was only a matter of time until the higher-ups decided to shut it down for good. The confirmation came from EA in August 2025, announcing the end of service to happen within 6 months.
As for why EA has decided to kill a game that had its devoted followers, rather than trying to improve it, you could name a few possible reasons.
BioWare’s looter shooter sold over 5 million copies, yet it was considered a commercial failure due to the budget required to develop the game. On top of that, Anthem was made with a live-service model in mind, which would generate additional costs for developers; disappointing sales numbers didn’t give the creators much hope in terms of turning it into a successful long-term project.
The game itself can also be shortly described as “too ambitious”; the trailer from 2017 showed a game that had nothing to do with reality. Evidently, developers had no clear vision about the game and promised things they couldn’t deliver, leaving players upset.
Insight from ex-BioWare Producer, Mark Darrah
Mark Darrah, who worked on Anthem, shared some interesting news with the players. According to what he said, BioWare had all the necessary tools to make it possible to save the game from death and add an optional offline mode. It could’ve had local servers, allowing everyone to play the game long after the official servers have been shut down. EA has just decided not to go through with this.
See more: BioWare Is Now a One-Project Studio After Anthem Shutdown, Says Former Executive
Game preservation is a hot topic recently, as proven by the popularity of gaming community movements such as Stop Killing Games, started by Ross Scott in 2024. Anthem is yet another example of a game that could’ve been saved if SKG had a say in the matter.
Private Servers – Possible Revival of Anthem
As presented by a YouTuber, And799, some of Anthem’s code already been cracked and reverse-engineered, ultimately proving that it’s entirely possible to bring the game back, at least partially.
As seen in the video presented on the channel, Anthem is successfully running on a local server and seems to be playable to a certain extent. Even the connectivity seems to be working, as we can see two players together in the same gaming session, thanks to peer-to-peer networking.
Some features are still broken, such as viewing your player profile, and it’s difficult to say whether it will ever be possible to bring Anthem back to a fully-functioning state, but what we’ve already seen may give some hope to those who’d love to jump back into action.
Is Anthem Coming Back?
With all the good news we’ve got, we advise a cautiously optimistic approach. As stated by And799, what we’ve seen is a part of creator’s personal research and experiment project.
The author clearly says that what’s shown in the video doesn’t represent the current progress of the private server and is not meant to be taken as a revival of the game.
What they managed to achieve works as a proof-of-concept, but there are no guarantees that it will evolve into bringing Anthem back.
Conclusion
Even though what we’ve seen is impressive, it can’t be taken as a definitive Anthem revival.
It will take a lot of time and effort before the game can be brought back to life and played on private servers, and there’s no guarantee that it will ever happen. Still, if you liked the game, it’s nice to see a light at the end of the tunnel, even if it’s a faint one.
Source:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPx5SJHFvGM