BioWare attempted to connect with games like Anthem. However, Anthem was only moderately successful. Now, it is even being sold for 1 penny, about one cent, in a GameStop store. A Reddit user took advantage of this and bought 37 copies.
What kind of game is Anthem? After Destiny had great success since its release in 2014, BioWare tried to create a similar game.
Anthem was released in 2019 and is a loot shooter in a sci-fi style. The player takes on the role of a “Javelin” and wears a combat suit. Through the suit, the player has extraordinary powers and rushes into battle against enemies.
However, Anthem did not reach the successes of Destiny 2. The PS4 version of the game received a user score of only 3.5 on Metacritic (it goes up to 10). 918 of the total 1401 reviews were negative (as of July 20, 2022, via Metacritic).
In the meantime, EA had planned to renew Anthem with a “reboot” – but in February 2021, EA officially announced the end of Anthem: The servers will remain online for now, but no further work will be done on the game.
Why Anthem failed and why the demise of the game is so unfortunate can be heard in the MMO podcast.
Here you see a trailer which reminded us of Anthem:
Reddit user buys 37 copies of Anthem for less than 50 cents
How do players react to the bargain price of Anthem? On Reddit, user Spider-Man_Fan_123 proudly posted a photo of his 37 copies of Anthem and the receipt. Under the title: “Anthem is now a bargain at GameStop,” he writes:
“I was at GameStop last Sunday and saw that they are selling this game for just one cent. After taxes, I got all of this for less than 50 cents. I don’t know how long this sale will last.”
The receipt shows that including taxes he paid only about 40 cents. He saved 216 euros on the purchase (via reddit.com).
GameStop is clearing out games that are no longer worth shelf space
Why was the game sold so cheaply? The TikToker clocklava showed in her video a copy of Anthem that was also available for one penny at GameStop.
An employee of the store explained why the game was so cheap: Once games sell poorly, they are either removed from the inventory or offered to customers at bargain prices (via TikTok).
What does another employee say? Reddit user n080dy123, who claims to work at GameStop, suspects the following: “It’s not a clearance sale. GameStop is just trying to get the game out of stores before the server shutdown date is announced and the discs become worthless. It will never be sold at full price again.”
What is the validity of this assumption? So far, BioWare has made no official announcement regarding a server shutdown. User n080dy123 also clarifies in another post that this is pure speculation and he does not know the exact reason.
How much does Anthem cost at GameStop in Germany? In the online shop of GameStop, Anthem is available in new condition for between 14.99 and 15.99 euros depending on the platform. Used copies can be obtained for already 4.99 euros for Xbox One and PS4 (as of July 20, 2022, via gamestop.de).
What do you think about Anthem being sold for 1 cent? Feel free to let us know in the comments.
For years, the developer Mark Darrah worked at BioWare and took on the role of Executive Producer for Anthem. On Mein-MMO, you can read about what he shared.
