Today, during the EA Play press conference, BioWare finally announced the release date of the upcoming multiplayer action RPG Anthem. We also get to see plenty of combat gameplay, with a deep look at the Javelin exosuits that will power up our flying and exploration in the game's wild environments.

The game will place quite a lot of emphasis on storytelling and loot, not unlike Destiny even if the approach appears to be quite different here.

It's a shared world as you do the missions with other players, but when you get back to the hub it works as a single player game, in which you can live your own story. It'll also be possible to challenge missions solo, but it will be more difficult. Below you can read more information directly from the press release:

"In Anthem, up to four players explore and battle in a dangerous, mysterious place populated by great characters and a unique BioWare story. Players will also create stories of their own while they play, so no two journeys are the same. Javelin exosuits make their pilots powerful heroes in the world, with awesome weapons and incredible special abilities that allow for combat and exploration in a hostile environment. Players will be able to customize and personalize their suits with unique paint jobs and gear so they’ll have the right tools to confront almost any situation, and look good doing it."

We also get more info on pre-orders, and on the two editions, which will be a standard one and a "Legion of Dawn" edition.

"Players excited to enter the dangerous world of Anthem are now able to pre-order the game. Those who do will receive VIP demo access and a unique in-game Founders banner. Those who pre-order the Anthem standard edition will also receive a legendary weapon and the Legion of Dawn Armor Pack for the Ranger Javelin as part of their pre-order content. In addition, those who purchase the Legion of Dawn Edition of Anthem for pre-order or after launch will also receive the full set of Legion of Dawn Armor Packs (including the Ranger Javelin Legion of Dawn Armor Pack), a Ranger Javelin gear attachment, the digital soundtrack and more."

Players will be able to customize their characters, and they will be able to personalize their Javelin as well, both in colors and in geometry.

There will be cosmetic items available for purchase, but there won't be any loot boxes. It will also be impossible to purchase anything that influences gameplay.

The whole single player story will also be available at launch, even if the game will get plenty more content down the line.

Last, but certainly not least, we get a release date, with the game coming on February 22nd, 2019 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

You can check out the gameplay below. If you want to see more, you can enjoy the latest cinematic trailer, the reveal trailer from last year, and the first gameplay to see how much it evolved since 2017.

If you want to see more from EA Play, make sure yo watch the recording of the full press conference.