Anthem Is Already Half Off At Amazon And Best Buy

It's not often that a three-month-old game gets chopped down to half price. Then again, Anthem is no ordinary game. Things have been rocky since Anthem launched back in February, and now that the world's had time to size up BioWare's shared-world shooter, the market is reacting in a way that can't make EA very happy.

Right now, Anthem is discounted to $30 on Amazon, where you can pick up the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One versions of the game. Over at Best Buy, you can spend that same $30 and get Anthem on PC, PlayStation 4, or Xbox One. Games will often see discounts a few months after launch — say, in the 10% to 20% off range — but a drop of 50% usually indicates that the game in question isn't selling that well, and stores are trying to move some of their inventory in order to clear out the excess.

Anthem had hopes of becoming the next big live service title, keeping players engaged with new content while funneling in funds via cosmetic microtransactions. Now it appears major retailers have a bunch of Anthem copies sitting around that aren't being played. And that's no bueno.

In terms of why this is, there are a few plausible explanations. As we stated earlier, Anthem didn't get off to the best start, with its super buggy beta period and, later, its less than stellar launch. More recently, BioWare was forced to push back some of the major content promised to players, keeping relatively silent for weeks as multiple deadlines passed and the community grew antsy.

And then there was the story that summed it all up: the Kotaku piece that went into great depth about just how troubled the development of Anthem actually was.

Still, there's a chance for redemption here. It's entirely possible that the team at BioWare could turn this thing around and give everyone the version of Anthem they were expecting, similar to the way No Man's Sky rewrote its tale. If your gut tells you BioWare can pull it off, and Anthem can rise like a phoenix from the ashes, then $30 is a pretty good deal for a game that might eventually become your main hobby.

If you're still concerned about Anthem and its future, though, maybe $30 is still too much money. It's your call.