EA Access is a pretty cool subscription model that lets players have access to a load of titles on PC and Xbox One for a monthly or annual fee. The service prides itself on game demos and access to new releases before they go live for non-subscribers. Most of the time, this works but in Anthem’s case, not so much.
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Anthem, being an online game, relies on players filling up servers and experiencing the game from start to finish together but EA is going to make this hard for you due to their fragmented launch plans for the title. EA released one of their famous “ways to play” graph which highlights the different ways you can get the game and even that makes zero sense.
The graph is meant to break it down for players but it actually just makes things really complicated and is almost like paying for an economy seat in a plane and having to try and figure out just where you start boarding for your budget pricing.
If you buy Anthem on PC and have an Origin Premier subscription which costs R199.95 per month then you can start playing the game on 15 February 2019. If you have a standard Origin Access subscription which costs R48.50 per month then you can also start playing the game on 15 February 2019 but you only get 10 hours of gameplay. If you don’t have any EA Access subscription or are playing on PS4 then you cannot play the game until 22 February 2019.
Yes, it is a load of complicated royalty hogwash that locks a lot of people out of the experience while EA tries to make more money off you. The issue is even worse now as Anthem is an online “community-driven” experience and your friends are all going to be flying first class while you wait for the plane to come back and get you. Anthem’s playable tier system is set out to ruin the game’s progression as the first week of the game means you need to pay and progress with everyone else or wait and hopefully catch up to them so you can all play together.
Last night, BioWare’s Jonathan Warner responded to a PS4 player asking if he will get early access in which Jonathan replied that this situation is out of his hands and up to Sony and EA. Until PS4 gets EA Access, this will not be a possibility. However, Jonathan believes that if it were up to him, everyone would play on the same day and this fragmented launch would not be a thing.
Anthem is set for release between 15 February 2019 and 22 February 2019 for PS4, Xbox One and PC depending on how much you pay.
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