When Anthem was first revealed and fans got to see the Javelins in trailers, many fans fell head over heels. Even the open beta was exciting. This all came crashing down at launch, however, as many fans discovered how bad the game actually was. In short, it was super rushed and many showcases beforehand were fake, with BioWare even scrapping up the name Anthem at the last minute.
Anthem has become synonymous with disastrous launches, even more so than Cyberpunk 2077. At least the latter has largely turned away from its launch and improved considerably, but while EA and BioWare did have plans for Anthem Next, it was shelved by the executives at EA. Anthem had a lot of promise, but with that, it seems clear it doesn’t have a future.
BioWare has moved on from Anthem, returning to its single-player focus on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf and working on a new entry in the Mass Effect franchise. Meanwhile, Anthem doesn’t appear to be worth much, even at GameStop. One TikToker named Clocklava managed to find it on sale for one penny at a local store.
According to GameSpot, the company often “pennies” out items that aren’t meant to be for sale, overstocked and/or unlikely to sell items like merch and apparently games like Anthem. However, this TikToker managed to grab the game for free, especially after the employee just paid the penny for them. Clocklava shared this online, showing the price tag on the game, and would proceed to boot up the title.
They appear to be enjoying it, as one of their follow-up videos says that is it “low-key the refresher” they’ve been needing. This makes sense too, as Anthem had many promising elements. Among them was the Javelins, which really brought an Iron Man Simulator vibe to the game and was something unique in the live-service space, but that’s where BioWare dropped the ball. Its loot system and live-service elements did not go over well with the community, and when paired with its lackluster world and story, the launch just wasn’t ready.
Had EA moved forward with Anthem Next, perhaps the story would be a little different now. However, at least one fan got it free and is enjoying the game. It should be noted that GameStop has Anthem listed, online and digitally, for full retail value, so it’s not likely fans can just walk into their local brick-and-mortar store and find this deal.
Anthem is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: Clocklava (via GameSpot)
