EA is betting a lot on the upcoming Anthem. The game is due to launch in late February, but EA expects it to sell a whole lot—to be specific, 5-6 million copies by the end of the fiscal year on March 31, 2019, the company revealed in its fiscal statement (via analyst Daniel Ahmad of Niko Partners on Twitter).
It’s a surprisingly reasonable and conservative forecast for a major new multiplayer game release, but there are several variables that throw a wrench into trying to predict how Anthem may do—from it being a multiplayer looter shooter from a company best known for its character driven RPGs, to it launching in a crowded release window, to even EA’s propensity to largely mess up game launches of late (Apex Legends notwithstanding).
It’s anyone’s guess whether or not Anthem manages to hit those numbers, but I will personally hold out in hope that it does. While the game is itself not necessarily one I am that interested in, I want BioWare to stick around—and EA has been ruthless with axing underperforming studios in the last few years. Thankfully, indications are that the demo seems to have met BioWare’s expectations.
Anthem launches for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on February 22.