BioWare's Anthem will get a beta ahead of release

During this year's E3 conference, BioWare took the wraps off of Anthem, an open world online shooter. While the game is still a long way from launch, Anthem Game Director Jonathan Warner has confirmed that players will be able to get a little hands on time with a beta ahead of release.

Given the preponderance of beta tests for online games nowadays, that shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. And given the fact that Anthem looks to be taking a whole lot of inspiration from Destiny, BioWare will likely want to make sure things are as close to perfect ahead of launch to avoid any unflattering comparisons. That's doubly true following the studio's recent troubles with the prominent Mass Effect: Andromeda.

5 things you should know about Anthem, EA's next big shooter for Xbox One

What remains to be seen is whether this will be a true beta test in search of bugs, or simply a promotional deal to let gamers play Anthem early. When responding to a followup question on Twitter, Warner said it's "too soon for details" over whether the beta will be a trial through EA access or a separate beta.

EA and Bioware have yet to state a specific release date for Anthem, but the game is expected to arrive sometime during fall of 2018.

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Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl