Anthem

BioWare's Head of Live Service Chad Robertson has posted a note on the site to lay out for Anthem players and fans what happened to cause such a rocky start to the VIP demo. In addition, Robertson write about current and ongoing efforts to mitigate and solve some of the most persistent problems players have experienced.

According to BioWare Studio Head Casey Hudson, today's Anthem VIP demo issues are not server related at all, something that was originally targeted when players were unable to log into the game. Hudson's latest Twitter post states that the problem is "a different issue that didn't come up in previous scale testing" and that "teams are on it".

Anthem's Lead Producer Mike Gamble has announced that the team has added a new feature to the game called "Launch Bay". In effect, Launch Bay is a multiplayer hub for up to sixteen players. "Hang out with your friends, use the forge, reload and grab a new contract." Gamble wrote. He further stated that this feature was added based on community feedback.

The Anthem VIP beta test will kick off on Friday, January 25th at 9:00 am Pacific / 12:00 pm Eastern and will run through January 27th at 6:00 pm Pacific / 9:00 pm Eastern. Those who have preordered the game or who are members of EA / Origin Access will be able to take part in the beta this weekend. In order to jump into the game when the bell tolls the start of the event, players on all platforms can preload the client right now.

Fans looking forward to Anthem may want to check out the latest update on the BioWare site from General Manager Casey Hudson. In it, Hudson reviews some of the history of the game's development and what it's bringing to players that make it both familiar to fans and different from anything else BioWare has ever made. Hudson also speaks to upcoming beta opportunities, both the paid pre-order beta and the open beta demo that will launch a week later.

For Anthem players who like fast and furious gameplay, the Interceptor Javelin may be the ticket. In a new gameplay video from IGN, the Interceptor is profiled revealing its speed and agility in any fight.

The EA Support site has been updated with the system specifications for BioWare's Anthem. Both the minimum system requirements and the recommended system requirements are available and include markers such as CPU, RAM, GPU and more.

Over the holidays, Anthem and EA released some new information about the upcoming demos for the game. There will be two demos made available, one for "VIPs" who preorder the game or who are EA/Origin Access members and a second free demo that anyone can play. The VIP demo will be available from January 25th to January 27th and those who take part will earn an exclusive item after Anthem launches. The open demo will be available from February 1st to February 3rd.

The Anthem team took to the airwaves earlier this week to show off more of the game that is set for release in February. This time, Game Director Jon Warner and Lead Producers Ben Irving and Mike Gamble provided viewers with a great look at the Interceptor Javelin. It is considered the agile, fast-moving Javelin. Strongholds were also showcased as being the Anthem-equivalent of dungeons.

This past weekend, BioWare and EA ran the first closed alpha event for Anthem and one streamer found out the hard way that the two companies were serious about the rules set forth in the non-disclosure agreement. A player named "smokethrone", chose to try to stream the game in violation of the NDA and was shut down without even being able to progress past the start screen. But it gets better...

The BioWare blog has been updated with a brief explanation of what Anthem players can expect who are lucky enough to be invited into the game's first closed alpha that is kicking off on December 8th and December 9th. During testing phases throughout the weekend, players will be helping developers "ensure the key systems and technology that power the game will hold up when we launch" and specifically on "load balancing and scale testing servers and matchmaking".

EA and BioWare have announced that the first closed alpha test for Anthem will take place on December 8th and December 9th. The event is designed for players to help developers "adjust things like matchmaking" and that players need to be aware that changes, such as server load, may occur "on the fly". As a result the alpha event is "more limited than what we want to share in the pre-launch demos".

The latest BioWare studio update has been published. Penned by Casey Hudson, the letter talks about how hard the team is working to get Anthem ready to ship on February 22nd and about Hudson's own time spent in game during a recent "Play From Home" session. He writes of the signature things he finds in Anthem that are expected for a BioWare title, but also speaks about superheroic gameplay that makes him want to come back just for the "feel" of it.

BioWare Lead Producer Mike Gamble and the Anthem team will be hosting a special live stream event on Thursday, November 29th to show off Fort Tarsis, the player's in-game base of operations, and the retooled Lost Arcanist mission that was shown earlier this year. The event will kick off in the Anthem Twitch channel at 1:00 pm Pacific / 4:00 pm Eastern.

Anthem Lead Producer Mark Darrah has taken to Twitter to remind folks that the game will be out in February 2019 "same as always". Darrah was responding to a Twitter user who asked if the game would be released in March. However, Reddit user "RuthenticCookie" has posted a rumor that Anthem may be delayed to launch with Sony's unannounced PlayStation 5 and that "Anthem is a mess on 'this-gen consoles'". RuthenticCookie is the same person who leaked that Sony would not be at E3 2019 a day early.