EA Postpones 'Anthem' Launch to Make Way For 'Battlefield'

A new entry to the "Battlefield" franchise is on its way for Fall 2018, as sci-fi action adventure "Anthem" moves into 2019. Perhaps unsurprisingly, after rumours started circulating a week before Electronic Arts' January 30 investors call, ambitious co-op action game "Anthem" is now due in 2019 rather than the late 2018 window initially announced.

Revealed midway through 2017 and immediately winning comparisons to standard-setting sci-fi shooter "Destiny," action-oriented role-playing game "Anthem" was tipped for a slide into 2019 after anonymous sources spoke to Kotaku about the game's importance and readiness.

EA has now confirmed that rumour -- as far as release dates go, at least -- by posting a new "Anthem" marker for January to March 2019. By moving their sci-fi franchise debut up to six months away from the next iteration of "Battlefield," EA avoids repeating the events of late 2016.

Then, in World War I franchise resurgence "Battlefield 1" and sci-fi accomplishment "Titanfall 2," two new entries to high-profile EA action franchises were released a week apart, the latter crushed in a squeeze between its well-hyped labelmate and "Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare."

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In what could be a related matter, the "Anthem" studio network's last game, early 2017's sci-fi adventure "Mass Effect: Andromeda," had to contend with not just release schedule congestion, but several noticeable quality issues as well.

Its difficult launch capped off an intense three-week period in which the PlayStation 4's "Horizon Zero Dawn," the brand new Nintendo Switch and its "Zelda: Breath of the Wild," and Ubisoft's "Ghost Recon: Wildlands" were all launched to considerable success.

As if that was not difficult enough, "Mass Effect: Andromeda" stumbled over a number of well-publicized technical issues, and it's that sort of premature release that could factor into EA's decision to move "Anthem" out of 2018.

However, EA challenged that notion in a Wall Street Journal report, emphasizing that the switch to 2019 was part of a scheduling strategy. But even if "Anthem" didn't need more time, it's got it.

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