Former BioWare Producer Outlines $10 Million Plan to Revive Anthem as a Single-Player RPG

Former BioWare executive producer Mark Darrah has proposed a bold $10 million plan to revive Anthem as a fully single-player RPG. The idea comes just days after EA officially shut down Anthem‘s servers, marking a potential new chapter for the sci-fi shooter.

Originally released in 2019, Anthem was BioWare’s attempt at a shared-world shooter built around high-flying mech suits and live-service mechanics. Despite a dazzling reveal and promising gameplay concept, however, the title launched to middling reviews and quickly lost its player base. Mark Darrah, who was brought back to lead the now-canceled “Anthem Next” overhaul in 2020, has remained one of the game’s most vocal advocates, especially since Anthem players had been asking for an offline mode long before the game was shut down. His latest comments come merely days after it was rendered completely unplayable following EA’s decision to shut down its servers on January 12, 2026.

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In a recently released video titled “The Truth About What Happened on Anthem,” Darrah laid out a three-phase plan for a single-player reboot of the game, estimating a total cost of $10 million. In order to do that, Anthem‘s technical framework would need to be upgraded for current-gen platforms like the PS5 and Switch 2, allowing it to target locked 60 FPS and enhanced visuals. Since local server code had existed internally before launch, offline play was entirely feasible even without needing EA’s support, a point that resonates even more strongly now that hundreds of fans have signed a petition to save Anthem. The final, and easily most expensive component, would involve creating AI-controlled squadmates to replace the original four-player requirement, offering a true BioWare-style experience centering on the sort of narrative depth and companion dynamics that fans love.

More than just a technical overhaul, Darrah framed this revival as a way to finally deliver the single-player RPG fans expected all along. By focusing on story, character-driven squads, and personal progression rather than the grind most expect from live-service IPs, the reboot would effectively reverse-engineer Anthem into the kind of BioWare experience that made the studio famous. He also used the video to support the broader Stop Killing Games movement, arguing that publishers should be required to preserve games in at least some playable form. While Darrah acknowledged that EA is unlikely to pursue the plan, he believes Anthem‘s best chance at survival lies in reimagining it for the players it was originally meant to serve.

Although Darrah’s proposal has generated plenty of buzz among BioWare loyalists and Anthem preservation advocates, he suspects that EA is unlikely to greenlight the project — and it’s not all that surprising why. The $10 million plan stands in direct opposition to Anthem‘s original vision as an always-online live-service title. Given the ongoing discourse around why Anthem failed, such as development missteps and misaligned expectations, it’s clear that the game’s downfall still casts a long shadow. Yet even so, by shifting toward a single-player structure and removing the constraints of official servers, Darrah argues that the game could find new life, offering a redemptive arc similar to titles like No Man’s Sky or Cyberpunk 2077 that overcame rocky launches to become the fan favorites they are now.

Of course, some argue that folding Anthem into the Mass Effect universe may be a better long-term strategy than reviving it as a standalone title. Still, whether EA bites or not, Darrah’s video has definitely reignited conversations about Anthem‘s unrealized potential all over the web and what publishers owe to players even after the lights go out. With video game preservation movements gaining traction and nostalgia for ambitious failures continuing to grow, Anthem‘s potential rebirth as a single-player RPG may not be as far-fetched as it once seemed. For now, though, Darrah’s vision remains a compelling “what if” in gaming history — one that fans can only hope catches fire the way it was always supposed to.

Released

February 22, 2019

ESRB

T for Teen: Alcohol Reference, Language, Mild Blood, Use of Tobacco, Violence

Publisher(s)

Electronic Arts