Some Anthem Fans Are Trying to Bring the Game Back from the Dead

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Despite a rocky start and disappointing reviews, a dedicated group of players are already working to revive the online game after its recent shutdown. While faced criticism for repetitive gameplay and technical problems following a lot of pre-release excitement, these fans believe the game deserves another chance, and they’re determined to make it happen.

BioWare unveiled Anthem at E3 2017 with a stunning gameplay demonstration, hoping to regain player trust after the underwhelming response to Mass Effect: Andromeda. However, the final game didn’t live up to the initial promise. Following a disappointing launch in 2019 and ongoing low sales, EA shut down Anthem‘s servers on January 12, 2026. Now, there are hints that the game might not be completely finished.

Anthem Fans Think It’s “The Perfect Time” to Resurrect the Game’s Servers

On January 17th, a YouTube user named And799 shared a demonstration of how some features from the game Anthem could be made to work again. While the user emphasized this wasn’t a step towards fully restoring the game’s servers, many commenters expressed excitement and offered to help develop the idea further. It’s currently unknown if any progress has been made. This effort might seem unexpected considering Anthem‘s initial struggles, but hundreds of fans previously signed a petition asking EA to reconsider shutting it down, proving there’s still a dedicated group who want to keep the game alive.

Image via BioWare

As a big fan of Anthem, I was really bummed when the servers went down, making the game unplayable. But a player named And799 has been doing amazing work! They’ve managed to get Anthem running again, sort of, by changing how it connects – basically, letting one player’s computer act as the server. It’s not perfect yet; the people working on it say it still needs a lot of polish to feel like the original. But considering how quickly they’ve made progress, it’s incredible! Plus, it’s way cheaper than the $10 million plan Mark Darrah (a former producer) suggested to bring the game back officially.

Whether And799 and other dedicated fans can truly revive Anthem remains to be seen, but this isn’t the first time players have tried to bring back games that no longer receive official support. Late last year, modders successfully brought Concord back online by rebuilding it to run on custom servers. While the rebuilt version wasn’t as polished as the original, it worked, proving that passionate fans can keep abandoned games alive. As more online games are cancelled or shut down, we might see more of these fan-led efforts, either to keep playing or simply to preserve gaming history.

Image via BioWare

There’s been growing concern recently about game servers being shut down. A petition called “Stop Killing Games” has received over 1.4 million signatures in the EU, prompting a discussion in the European Parliament, though it’s not certain to become law. Those who support protecting online games argue that shutting down servers or not offering offline play harms customers who have already paid for the game. They also believe it’s important to preserve these games as art. However, companies counter that keeping servers running is costly, and they may not want to continue investing in games that aren’t profitable. While legal battles play out, it might be up to dedicated fans to keep games like Anthem playable.

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2026-01-23 18:04