Anthem's "VIP Demo" Was a Successful Beta But a PR Problem

Anthem, the upcoming BioWare Action RPG, had a VIP Beta recently. But instead of building hype, a variety of technical issues arose, sowing the seeds of discontent with the game's pre-order player base.

Anthem had a private beta session for the game, which they called a "VIP Demo" last weekend. Framed as a taste of what the game offered, it was available as a pre-order incentive before the game releases on February 22. What is also was, but not promoted as, was a live test to put pressure on their servers and online features. It was the first time the general public was allowed to play the game, after all.

Like with any live test, it struggled. A variety of technical issues bubbled to the surface which, while probably very helpful for their quality assurance team, only upset and disheartened the players. Whether it was poor connections, infinite load screens, or unjustified access restrictions, there was something to hinder your gameplay.

This has been a growing trend in the industry lately. Publishers will advertise beta test sessions as a special early bonus, often incentivizing players to pre-order the game to gain access. When framed this way, players expect a completed product. The fact that the test was called a VIP Demo is a perfect example of this.

A similar situation happened with Fallout 76 when pre-ordered players could play during the various BETA sessions. While those were clearly labeled as a broken test experience, being placed behind a pre-order wall gave the participants a sense of entitlement when things went wrong.

Those with a glass-half-full mindset will remark that it's better that these issues happened during this session than during the game's release, which is a fair and accurate point.

There will be another beta session from February 1-3, 2019 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Origin for PC. Anyone may participate in this one. It's still not called a beta, but an Open Demo. More information can be found on the EA website.

Anthem releases on February 22.