The early months of next year are already shaping up to be filled with a ton of AAA releases, with no title making a greater headline than EA and BioWare's Anthem, which is set to launch in February. While the online "live service" game is being developed with post launch support in mind, the goal for Anthem is for the experience to retain its player base by releasing the game with a complete day one release.

News of Anthem's expectations at launch were voiced by the game's producer Mark Darrah in an interview with USGamer. Darrah explained how even without the live service support that's already planned, the goal is for players to be able to enjoy playing Anthem for long after the game's release. He also explained that, in the past few years, many popular live service games have launched without being finished, citing their lack of content as one of the main reasons for those same titles being unable to retain their player base.

It should be noted Darrah's comments regarding "incomplete" titles didn't reference any specific games, though suggestions may point to the likes of Destiny 2, with analysts pointing out the long-term struggles that may come in the next few years for Activision. The push for AAA online games being supported well after launch has seen its share of successes and failures, from Rockstar's GTA Online to Gearbox's Battleborn. Bioware is looking to keep themselves in good standing with their audience, which is apparent given they'll be releasing a demo in February just before the game launches as a way to garner community feedback as quick as possible.

While Anthem is being developed with its day one content in mind, Bioware is also working to make the years following launch readily available for everyone. Just last week at PAX West, it was announced that Anthem will not have a season pass, while also making its story DLC free for players. Part of the reason could be due to the lack of any PvP gameplay in Anthem, placing a greater emphasis on the game's story-based experiences being accessible to all players.

Anthem was first revealed back at E3 2017 and the game sees players taking the role of a freelancer in an online multiplayer role-playing game with up to three other players. The game looks to follow the formula of many well established live service games seen in the recent years, with end game content consisting of familiar raids and dungeons, as well as plans to support Anthem for years following release.

Anthem launches February 22nd, 2019 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Source: USGamer