BioWare’s Anthem will have a Demo, a Trial Test, Early Access and possibly Alpha and Beta tests. Here are all possible ways for you to play Anthem before launch!
Anthem launches on February 22nd 2019 officially. The game has been available for pre-order since this Summer. BioWare and EA announced a few more details about the game’s launch and who will get to play what, based on the amount of money they are paying.
Let’s take a closer look!
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THE VIP DEMO
This is just a demo of the game, not the full title, not beta test – a demo. You will get exclusive access to a special segment (some story, a bit of open world and leveling plus some group play experience) on January 25th 2019. To get to play this demo you have to either:
- Origin Access (Basic or Premier)
- EA Access
- Pre-ordered through Origin
- Pre-ordered through the PlayStation Store
- Pre-ordered through the Xbox Games Store
- have pre-ordered the game (again, both Standard and Legion of Dawn pre-orders qualify).
If you want to access it as an EA Origin subscriber, you need to make sure you have your subscription active at this date, though. This means you have to renew or purchase a subscription plan shortly before January 25th.
If you pre-ordered a physical copy of Anthem, or purchased a digital copy from one of our partner sites, you need to use the code they give you to sign up for the VIP demo.
You must sign up through the Anthem website, not through Origin.com or the Origin client.
You will be able to pre-load the demo and have it ready. Here is when and how:
- On PC, the VIP demo client is available in Origin from January 23, 2019.
- On Xbox One, you can download it as soon as it becomes available on the Microsoft Game Store on January 23, 2019.
- On PlayStation, you can download it as soon as it becomes available on the PlayStation Network Store.
You will be able to invite up to three friends to play the Anthem VIP Demo. To do that you must give them a code that you will receive in your account on the game website after you log in yourself into Anthem’s VIP Demo.
The same Demo will be available for all players for free on February 1st.
Note, that any progress you may have made in the demo will not carry over to the full game upon its release.
We want to give you a taste of all you can experience in Anthem, we’ll set you up with some missions and then a slice of the world is yours to explore.
We start you off at level 10 in the demo, so you get to play with a more powerful Javelin and use more powerful weapons.
EARLY ACCESS
The Early Access begins on February 15th 2019 at 15:00 GMT. Only the EA Origins Premier subscription plan includes full access to the game, starting on that date. For as long as you are an active subscriber, you will be able to play Anthem without having to purchase it.
EA Origin Premiere has some other benefits as well. You can check them out and compare the two plans here if you like.
Nobody else will receive full access to the game aka as “Early Access”. The 10-hour trial also starts on 15th at 15:00 GMT, more on that below.
PLAY FIRST TRIAL
As with most of EA’s recent titles, pre-orders and EA Origin (EA Access for Xbox One) members get to play the game before its release for 10 hours.
Whatever progress you have made during the Play First Trial, which starts on February 15th at 15:00 GMT, it will carry over into the full game after February 22nd.
The 10 hours are a total play time starting from 15th until the game’s launch. You can play them all in one session or split them on several different days. It’s up to you. Just be careful, because with previous EA titles, even sitting in menus counts as gameplay.
OTHER WAYS TO PLAY EARLY
Back at E3 and once again at PAX West BioWare announced that there will be (alpha) tests. At this point it is still unknown when and what type of access will be granted. The studio hinted that alpha tests are expected “later this year” and that’s the only information there is at the moment.
As soon as Alpha testing sign-ups open up, you can rely on VULKK.com to give you the heads-up. Whether participants will be chosen randomly, by pre-order status or based on research and player inquiries, it is too early to tell.
Q&A
And here are two popular questions, answered by EA officially:
Q: What if I pre-ordered the game but I’m not an EA Access or Origin Access member?
A: If you pre-ordered the Legion of Dawn Edition or the Standard edition, you’ll get access to the February 1 demo. If you pre-ordered but aren’t an EA Access or Origin Access member, you won’t get any Early Access benefits even though you’ll be able to play the full game when it comes out on February 22, 2019.
Q: What do I get as an Origin Access Basic member?
A: If you’re an Origin Access Basic member, you’ll get access to the February 1 demo and the Play First Trial for PC. You’ll get to play 10 hours of Anthem starting on February 15, but you’ll have to purchase the full game when it comes out on February 22, 2019 to play beyond those 10 hours. Upgrading to Origin Access Premier will give you the full game to play as much as you want with Early Access on February 15, 2019.
CONCLUSION
That’s it, my friend. In case you were wondering when and how can you play Anthem before launch, which is on February 22nd 2019. Simply put – the more you pay to EA, the more you get… in terms of gameplay time.
If this early access is important to you, you will need to be an active EA Origins Premiere subscriber, which currently costs $15 per month or $99.99 yearly).
Just to clarify, nothing has changed since the pre-orders have become available. This is the same information with all the dates explained and explained a bit more in-depth.
If you haven’t pre-ordered the game yet, but want to, I have a guide to help you better understand what is different between the two Editions.
