Like the Undertaker rising out of his coffin, Anthem is back from the dead – kind of. BioWare's infamous live-service third-person shooter was taken offline on January 12, nearly six years after it debuted. As of its shutdown date, there is no official way to play Anthem, which requires an internet connection – a fact which has resurfaced the usual discourse regarding software ownership and the perils of always-online games.
Anthem had a small, dedicated community, but its forced retirement brought more attention to it than the game enjoyed in years. BioWare has not stepped up to make it playable offline, but a proof-of-concept video now proves its possible to play Anthem on a peer-to-peer server, albeit with some major drawbacks. The YouTube video from And799 shows two Anthem game clients connected in a multiplayer session, suggesting a revival project is possible (cheers, Kotaku).
Anthem's exit was not graceful. For some, the game became unplayable days before the shutdown date, and hopes for an offline patch, à la the similarly ill-fated Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, went unanswered. Anthem's last hope is an unofficial fan resurrection, but it won't come from And799. In...
