The first major game of 2019 is out now as a demo, but it's off to a rough start

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The first major game of 2019 is out now as a demo, but it's off to a rough start

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Anthem (game)

BioWare/EA

  • The first major new game from the studio behind "Mass Effect" and "Dragon Age" is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC in February.
  • The game is named "Anthem," and it sounds a lot like EA's version of the massively popular Activision game "Destiny."
  • The first chance for the public to play the game - a so-called "VIP Demo" - is available now, but it's off to a rough start.

It may not seem like it yet, but 2019 is already in full swing - and with a new year comes the next wave of major video games.

One of the first games of that coming wave is "Anthem," a huge new online-only game from the folks who brought you the "Mass Effect" and "Dragon Age" franchises.

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It's set to launch on the PlayStation 4, the Xbox One, and the PC on February 22 - still a few weeks away - but EA is offering an early chance to play the game right now in a "VIP" demo.

There's only one problem: The game is off to a rocky start, with many players complaining that the servers are at capacity.

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Anthem (game)

EA/BioWare

When we tried to access the game on Xbox One, we were unable to log in.

Despite repeated attempts to log in on an Xbox One, we were unable to get past the screen you see above. It says "Connecting to Online Services," and a loading symbol spins, and the game's music continues playing, and the people even continue moving - but it never goes past that. 

After quitting out of the game manually from the console's dashboard, subsequent attempts yielded similar results. Sometimes, a pop-up message says that the game's servers are at capacity, sometimes it says there's a connection problem, and sometimes it simply hangs for minutes at a time.

Notably, EA already ran a stress test on its servers during an "Alpha" period back in December that was far more limited in availability. Moreover, it's rare that modern games launch with server capacity issues.

EA issued the following statement on Twitter: "We're adding more server capacity to the #Anthem demo right now. Hang tight while we work to get everyone into the game."

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Anthem

EA/BioWare

So, when can you play the game? Soon, hopefully!

EA is running its VIP demo all weekend, and it's possible that will get extended given the server issues on Friday. If you didn't pre-order the game, you can still get into the demo - anyone who's in the demo has five invitations to give out.

You'll need Xbox Live or PlayStation Plus if you want to play the "Anthem" demo on the Xbox One or the PlayStation 4; the game is available on PC through EA's Origin storefront.

For a taste of what you'll experience in the "Anthem" VIP demo, check out the latest trailer:

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