Sony gives refunds as Anthem shuts down PS4 systems

EA’s new live looter-shooter, Anthem, is reportedly not just crashing and closing, but also completely shutting down PlayStation 4 consoles.

Several Reddit threads (thanks, GI.biz) are reporting BioWare’s live open-world game is frequently crashing or, in isolated cases, making the HDD temporarily inaccessible and reportedly "bricking" PS4 consoles entirely. When players can reboot their systems, they’re given a warning that suggests the console was not closed down properly.

In some instances – as detailed in this Reddit thread – some players have successfully petitioned Sony for a full refund of the game, but it’s clearly not a universal decision on Sony’s behalf, as some players have had requests for refunds refused.

"Sony is aware of the issue and is offering a complete refund on Anthem no questions asked. Took me 5 minutes," said one commenter.

"We’re aware of a crashing issue some of you have been reporting for #AnthemGame," EA said via a tweet posted yesterday. "We’re investigating and ask that you share your crash data reports when prompted. If you have, we’ll be reaching out to gather info; if not, please reply to this thread on AHQ."

The thread says EA is currently in the process of gathering information about the PS4 issues "so [EA] can determine the root cause". Affected players are asked to confirm what kind of PlayStation 4 console they have – original, Slim, or Pro – share their PSN ID, and detail when the crash happens.

At the time of writing, 471 people have self-reported that they’ve been affected by the same issues – either the game crashes to the PS4 menu, or it shuts down their console entirely.