Those Anthem free-to-play rumours are probably bogus, but it hasn't stopped the playerbase from freaking out

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BioWare stays mum as talk of Anthem free-to-play spreads like wildfire

Credit: EA

*Sigh*... let's talk about Anthem, shall we? Following the news that key creatives at BioWare had parted ways with the open world shooter to go and work on Dragon Age 4, the future for what's left of the game's playerbase is looking bleak to say the least, especially after the latest Anthem patch notes have done little to help matters. 

But the latest rumour – and, to be clear, this rumour is about as verifiable as overhearing a drunk stranger mumbling a sequence of words in a public toilet – has got Anthem fans even more riled up in a mixture of excitement and annoyance over its potential implications. 

According to the blog MMOG Fails, Bioware and EA are considering bringing Anthem to EA Access, the subscription service that lets players enjoy the publisher's diverse portfolio of titles for a monthly fee. Not only that, but the blog post stats that Anthem going free-to-play is "still very much on the table" at present, at least "if patching and EA Access do not give it a much needed boost."

Again, MMOG Fails only cites "a source within EA" to back up these claims, making it hard to verify to say the least, but that hasn't stopped the Anthem community, alongside those who left the game long ago, from having a collective meltdown on Reddit over the idea of free-to-play. 

It hasn't helped that BioWare – true to form – has remained silent on the subject, while the recent news of EA Access coming to PS4 falls in line with these rumours. Indeed, the studio even considered making Anthem free-to-play before launch, but eventually settled on a paid model under EA's direction. 

Certainly, if you're someone who paid full price for Anthem in February, only to experience an unsatisfactory product and then find out that the game would be made free to everyone less than a year later, you'd be angry. Even the idea of the game being made available via EA Access, which seems more likely, would be enough to push some buttons. 

We'll have to see if EA or BioWare have anything to announce about Anthem during its E3 2019 schedule next month, but the studio needs to say something soon, before it's too late. We've reached out to EA for comment on this story, and will update if/when we hear anything more. 

The list of Anthem problems remains long and varied. Watch our 60 second review of the game below to find out some of the biggest gripes we found during our playthrough.

Alex Avard
Alex Avard

Alex is a former Features Writer at GamesRadar, which once made him responsible for gracing the internet with as many of my words as possible, including reviews, previews, interviews, and more. Lucky internet!