EA commits to March 2019 release for BioWare's Anthem
It's happening.
EA has committed to a March 2019 release for BioWare's Anthem.
During a financial call with analysts last night, EA's Blake Jorgensen said Anthem "will be shipped in the last quarter of the year and in the last month of that quarter". EA's financial year runs from April to March, which means Anthem will be squeezed out just in time to contribute revenue to the company's bottom line for the current financial year.
Anthem is set to release in Mass Effect's traditional launch slot. (Mass Effect Andromeda came out in March 2017, Mass Effect 3 came out in March 2012.) EA and BioWare will be hoping Anthem doesn't suffer the same fate as Andromeda, of course, which failed to set tills alight.
Interestingly, Jorgensen said EA was "being conservative" when it comes to Anthem's potential success - for a few reasons. One, it's a new intellectual property. Two, because Anthem comes out right at the end of EA's financial year, the company will probably have limited restocking of the game, "even if it's extremely successful".
"We're very excited about the game," Jorgensen added. "It's extremely unique, and I think players are going to really enjoy playing it, but we're careful not to put too large of a forecast in there. And clearly, it will impact this year as well as next year as we not only continue to sell more into the next year but start rolling out the live services associated with that game."
So, what do we know about Anthem? Well, we know it revolves around co-op, and that it is "a fundamentally social experience". By all accounts it's BioWare's take on Bungie's Destiny, a game intended to be played with friends for years. Here's how it looked, circa E3 2017:
Expect to hear more about Anthem at E3 in June.