Following a whole host of technical issues in Anthem‘s VIP beta, BioWare has defended against accusations that they were “underprepared.” According to BioWare’s Head of Live Service, Chad Robertson, the Anthem demo problems were not caused by a lack of excess player capacity, nor by insufficient preparation on their part, but instead as a result of ‘unexpected issues’ that often arise during real-world play.
The Anthem demo problems began at launch, when players attempting to gain access were confronted with a message that the servers had “reached max capacity.” This problem was reported across all platforms, suggesting that the root of the problem was on the developer’s end. BioWare has now shed light on these issues, reporting that players’ difficulty gaining access was caused by three factors: platform connections, that were previously secure throughout internal testing; specific entitlements or preorder bonuses that blocked access to the demo; and their persistent “infinite loads” problem when accessing certain areas.
BioWare’s priorities are to continue resolving these issues for the beta, which will likely also be introduced to the full game as a day one patch, given that the final version of the game has already gone gold. If you missed out on your chance to play in the VIP beta this weekend, then make sure to register for the open beta that begins on February 1. BioWare has assured that most of the Anthem demo problems will have been addressed, although it’s unlikely that the “infinite loads” problem will be fixed by then.
It’s not all doom and gloom for BioWare — in the same post, Robertson shared the news that they had reached “Fortnite-type numbers” of more than 300,000 concurrent viewers on their streams of Anthem, demonstrating the anticipation for the game.
Anthem is set to release on February 22, 2019, and will be available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
