Anthem has gone gold ahead of its release date next month, with development on the upcoming BioWare game having been wrapped up ahead of its February 22nd, 2019 launch. Going gold means that BioWare has now concluded its work on Anthem pre-launch, and that it’s now ready to be released to the general public.
The news of Anthem going gold was revealed by Michael Gamble, the lead producer of the game. Prior to its release, a demo will also be made available, which will allow players to experience it ahead of its official release. A VIP demo and an open demo will both launch in the coming days, with the VIP demo available on January 25th, while the open demo begins on February 1st. The former will last until January 27th while the latter will conclude on February 3rd, giving players three days to play the game.
Yeah, also we went gold.
— Michael Gamble (@GambleMike) January 23, 2019
The VIP demo will be available to those who pre-ordered Anthem and to EA/Origin Access subscribers, while the open demo will be available to everyone. It was previously believed that Anthem would roll out a beta ahead of its launch in order to allow players to help iron out any potential issues, though BioWare is instead steamrolling ahead with a demo before the full game drops next month.
The response to Anthem‘s pre-release build has thus far been relatively muted. Though billed as a blockbuster new IP, comparisons to Destiny have left consumers concerned that it will follow a similar path. With Bungie’s sci-fi series having been widely criticized for its over-reliance on microtransactions and its questionable in-game economy, many have suggested that Anthem could take a similar route. EA being at its helm as publisher also hasn’t helped assuage these concerns, with the company having been placed under a great deal of scrutiny for microtransactions since the Star Wars Battlefront 2 debacle.
However, with these doubts having yet to be confirmed, players will be given the opportunity to see if Anthem is the game for them in the demo. Though EA has confirmed that the in-game economy’s pricing in the demo won’t be reflective of the final game, at least players will get the opportunity to see if its gameplay lives up to their expectations.
