Anthem: 8 Reasons Why It Failed

8. Released As A Foundation To Build On Rather Than A Full Experience

If gaming companies aren't careful, the 'Games as a Service' model may kill the AAA gaming market, just like it killed much of the goodwill Anthem had.

Gamers don't like getting ripped off, and when a publisher openly acknowledges that what you're buying is essentially unfinished? There's bound to be some protest. After all, unless a game is free-to-play, entertaining gameplay can only get you so far. Without anything else to warrant further time investment and the price tag, players will forget to log in one day and then never come back.

Anthem is far from the only game to make this mistake, but it's easy to recognize how it has already suffered due to this financially-focused decision. Rather than allowing the devs to include more notable content (at the cost of delaying the game another half-year perhaps), EA let a half-baked product be sold as a fully-prepared course.

While this practice may not prevent you from initial financial success, it starts your game's relationship with players on the wrong foot. Instead of hooking a fanbase right away, you make them question whether they made the right choice in believing you, leading to an extremely questionable future for all involved.