20 Disastrous Gaming Launches Everyone Saw Coming

There's no doubt that EA was trying to position BioWare's Anthem as the next big thing in the AAA live service space - an always-online multiplayer-focused action-RPG in which you and a few pals can fly around in Iron Man-esque suits and battle monsters.

As great as that sounded on paper, Anthem's roughshod production was well-documented prior to release, with reports indicating the project was mismanaged, changing direction numerous times over the course of its seven-year development cycle.

This only exacerbated the sinking feeling many had from the game's vague trailers, which were more concerned with vibes and visuals than detailing the gameplay, that EA was about to lay yet another undercooked, overhyped live service goose egg.

And players were bang on the money - Anthem launched with a painfully mediocre campaign, a dull post-game, atrocious loading times, and worst of all frustrating flight mechanics requiring you to remain close to other players.

Though BioWare initially decided to reboot the game, they ultimately announced that these plans were scrapped. Surprisingly, though, Anthem's servers are still online for the time being, with a final shutdown date pencilled in for January 12, 2026.