BioWare’sAnthemwas disappointing, to put it mildly. Coming hot off the heels of the underwhelmingMass Effect Andromeda, audiences were hoping thatAnthemwould help give the beloved RPG-maker the boost that it needed to regain some of its former glory, but sadly, the live-service looter-shooter turned out bland, uninspired, and rife with problematic monetization. Recently, it was announced that the much-maligned GaaS will be shutting down in January 2026, drawing its rather depressing saga to a close.
But whileAnthemmay not have had the impact that BioWare and EA had hoped for, it has managed to get by in the years since its launch. Indeed, against all odds,Anthemdid cultivate a fanbase of committed players, who enjoy the game despite its well-documented issues and generally poor reputation. Many of these fans citeAnthem’s flying and shooting mechanicsas reasons to give the game a shot, and argue that these mechanics are good enough to carry a stand-alone game. These arguments have recently segued into pleas for EA to keepAnthemalive via an offline mode, but the gaming giant is far more likely to move on from the IP quietly, in an effort to close the book on this unfortunate chapter of BioWare’s history. In the future, though, another EA game can pick up some of the slack.
Anthemfans' clamors for a permanent offline modeecho movements like Stop Killing Games, as players lament that the product they spent money on will become obsolete.
Anthem Might Be On Its Way Out, but EA’s Iron Man Game Could Scratch the Same Itch
With Any Luck, EA’s Iron Man Will Be a Suitable Replacement for Anthem
Though virtually nothing has been revealed about it via official channels, EA Motive’sIron Manadaptation seems quite promising. EA Motive made major waves recently with the stunning and well-polishedDead Spaceremake, which upped audience confidence in the studio. In addition toDead Space, Motive has experience working onStar Wars: BattlefrontandStar Wars: Squadrons—two games that have proven to have notably long legs. As it so happens, BioWare Montreal merged with EA Motive roughly two years beforeAnthem’s release, so even thoughAnthemwas developed primarily by BioWare Edmonton, there could be some cross-pollination in terms of talent, tech, and development processes.
All of this is to say that Motive’sIron Manproject, while perhaps not a 1:1 replacement forAnthem, could giveAnthemfans much of what they want. At the end of the day, the weighty flight mechanics and high-tech third-person-shooter gameplay loop arewhat players love aboutAnthem, more than its world design, lore, or story, so if similar features are featured inIron Man, then it would be a more than serviceable concession inAnthem’s wake. Given Iron Man’s primary abilities, it seems safe to say that theIron Mangame will be quiteAnthem-like, whether Motive intends it or not.
Hopefully, EA Motive’s Iron Man Can Succeed Where Anthem Failed
Repetitive gameplay, a forgettable story, and questionable live-service ambitions are among the greatest reasons forAnthem’s failure, but these problems don’t need to apply toIron Man. Indeed, given Motive’s strong track record, the potential inherent in theIron ManIP, and the lessons learned from theAnthemdebacle, there’s reason to be hopeful that Motive’s swing at Marvel’s billionaire playboy will be a strong one. TheIron Manproject has been explicitly described as asingle-player action-adventure game by EAitself, and if its story and gameplay loop are given the proper love and care, it could turn out to have all the good, and none of the bad, ofAnthem.
