It’s Official Now
The most recent quarterly report from EA comes with a confirmation of what many had already assumed. The Anthem launch did not meet the publisher’s expectations. While sales figures and critical reception often disagree, it looks like they were in tune with one another this time around.
According to the report, while players have logged “more than 150 million hours since launch,” they’ve also had their fair share of complaints. In particular, issues “that began to manifest as the game reached scale.” It seems that these problems had a measurable negative impact on the overall quality of Anthem’s launch this Spring.
Meanwhile, the rest of EA’s properties are doing just fine. Apex Legends, FIFA 19, and Battlefield V all get lavished with praise in this same report. In spite of Anthem’s troubles, their publisher is riding high. The question remains, what happens to Anthem now? The report states that BioWare is focused on improving the game, with changes and fixes planned for the future. Whether this is enough to save BioWare’s hide is another matter altogether. After all, EA has a reputation for closing studios they’ve acquired, once things get a little rocky. Hopefully BioWare can turn things around, and soon.