EA confirms Anthem delay but says a new Battlefield game is coming this October
It's official—Anthem won't be out until 2019. But apparently it's not actually a delay.
BioWare's Destiny-alike online shooter early 2019.
Today Electronic Arts confirmed the delay, although also insisted that it is not actually a delay at all, and that it's not the result of development issues at BioWare but simply a matter of scheduling. There's a new Battlefield coming in October, and EA CFO Blake Jorgensen told the Wall Street Journal the company decided that Anthem will "get more attention if it came out in a quieter quarter."
The Kotaku report made BioWare's situation sound troubling, but Jorgensen's statement actually fits well with EA's recent past experience. Titanfall 2, released in 2016, is an cram it between Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.
There's no question that BioWare needs Anthem to be a hit, so this may well be a case of "lesson learned." Whatever the specifics, it's official: Anthem won't be out until 2019.
The announcement of the Anthem rescheduling-that-is-not-a-delay also delivers a low-key confirmation that a new Battlefield game is coming later this year. I'd forgotten about that completely, but it's not actually a new announcement: EA CEO Andrew Wilson said in the company's Q1 2018 earnings call (via Seeking Alpha) that "we'll continue delivering for our Battlefield fans, including the next great game in the franchise," in 2018. I've reached out to EA for more information and will update if I hear more.
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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he ed the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.