This weekend has been dominated by news of the new Anthem VIP demo on PS4, Xbox One and PC.
It has also seen a lot of technical issues hit the testing period, especially on Xbox One.
This included players getting caught in infinite loading screens, as well as wider problems with connectivity.
This was expected due to the nature of the demo and how BioWare have been using it to get rid of bugs.
However, it should also be noted that Anthem demo end time is fast approaching and unless BioWare extends the runtime, will be over soon.
ANTHEM DEMO END TIME
According to an earlier post by Electronic Arts, the Anthem VIP demo is set to end in the coming hours on PS4, Xbox One and PC.
For those in the UK, the Anthem demo is scheduled to end at 2am on Monday, January 28.
That will be a little earlier in other regions, meaning a completion date on Sunday, January 27.
BioWare has not announced plans at this time to extend the VIP demo past the current point due to technical issues.
These problems have stopped many players to enjoy the full extent of the VIP demo this weekend.
Chad Robertson, BioWare’s Head of Live Service, had this to say on the current issues affecting the game:
“Yesterday was rocky. The first day of our VIP demo weekend did not go exactly as we planned, and I want to share what happened.
“We’ve been testing the entire game and platform for several months, but there were a few things we missed; real-world play frequently leads to unexpected issues. Before I share details on this and what we’re still facing, I want to dispel one comment we’ve seen: that we under-planned for server capacity.
“To ensure stability, we intended to manage our servers to match the player population as it grew. Overall, we had excess capacity prepared for population increases, and continue to do so.
“That said, what’s important is that all parts of the game work as designed to meet players’ needs, and that did not happen in the opening hours.”
Problems have persisted into Sunday, here’s the current list of the most reported and known issues affecting some players:
- An infinite loading screen when launching the game or entering an expedition.
- Inability to get past the Anthem title screen. (potential workaround below)
Resolved or Mitigated:
- Some Xbox One players are unable to access the Anthem VIP demo. – Resolved
- Rubber-banding during free roam and/or missions. – Mitigated
- Second javelin not unlocking when reaching level 12. – Resolved
- Inability to access their Anthem VIP demo friends codes. – Resolved
For those hitting an *infinite loading screen when you get to about 95%, we do have a possible workaround, depending on your situation.
- Close the game client.
- Relaunch the game client.
- If it asks to rejoin the expedition press the indicated button to connect.
The good news is that a second Anthem Demo is being scheduled by EA for next month. The open demo, available to everyone to download on all platforms, is scheduled to run from Friday, February 1 to Sunday, February 3.
The demo will go live at the same time as the VIP test run, around 5pm in the UK. Central Europe will get access at 4PM, the United States East Coast at 12pm and the West Coast at 9am.